2B or not 2B?
by AuroraFireMadness
Summary: The girls are at university and someone is moving into the five bedroom apartment next door. Who could it be? Makoto falls in love instantly; Rei becomes suspicious; Minako already knows one of the neighbours; Ami has met her match; and Usagi meets someone she didn't expect, someone all five girls know REALLY well. Hilarity and drama ensue as the girls fight for love
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Meet The Neighbours

Makoto flitted around the immaculate kitchen preparing dinner for her friends, one of whom was supposed to be "helping" her out but instead was glued to her laptop finishing another extra credit assignment.

"Ami! You're meant to be helping me!" Makoto whined as she effortlessly picked up a 20 pound turkey on her own. The blue-haired girl turned to look at her best friend and grinned.

"Makoto, the only reason you wanted me to help you in the kitchen was so that Usagi and Minako didn't have to." She gave her friend a knowing smile – Makoto returned the sentiment by sticking her nose out at her.

"Well, last time it took me three hours to clean up the kitchen from a simple pasta meal. Tonight I am going all out and I shudder to think what those girls could have done!" Ami got up from her laptop and walked to the counter, opposite Makoto, and rolled up her sleeves.

"Ok, I'm ready! What do you want me to do?" Makoto glared at her for a few seconds before Ami realised she hadn't washed her hands, and if there was something Makoto wasn't, it was a dirty cook. Ami made a point to rub the liquid-dettol all over her hands, making sure Makoto saw her extra care in washing her hands, before rinsing them off. She returned to her original position.

"All clean." She grinned and held her hands out for Makoto's inspection.

"Ok!" Makoto got down to business after inspecting her friend's hands and made sure that they were spotless, she held the tray with the turkey out to her. "What I want you to do is get a hold of the turkey's legs and spread them so that I can stuff it. Ami grimaced at her assigned task.

"Excuse me?" Makoto sighed – she couldn't hold the bird in place AND stuff it.

"Ami please?" Ami tentatively reached out for the turkey and grabbed both legs with each hand and pulled them apart leaving Makoto the arduous task of cleaning out the inside. As the tall girl reached into the turkey Ami grinned at the look of horror on her face.

"That bastard! I told the butcher to clean the turkey out before selling it me. She scrunched her nose as she pulled her arm back with a fist full of turkey innards.

"This is disgusting!" Ami whined as she turned away to look anywhere else but at Makoto. The other girl sighed as she dumped the foul smelling innards in a separate tray and promptly put her hand back into the turkey.

"Well then, next time don't offer to come and help instead of going with Usagi and Minako to the arcade." Ami turned to look at her with a stern look in her eyes.

"Seriously, I don't get those girls, they are in their first year at one of the most prestigious universities in Tokyo, and they still go to the arcade!" Ami tutted before realising that she was staring at yet another fistful of turkey intestines. She turned away before she threw up.

"Well, they deserve to have a lot of fun, they've both come a long way, especially Usagi. I mean, do you remember how she was when we first found out we were senshi sailors?" Ami nodded and smiled at the memory of a 13 year old Usagi all kultzy and immature. After her break up with Mamoru, Usagi had done a complete 180 and studied really hard for the entrance exams into the most prestigious schools in the country. She had barely passed the exams, but that didn't matter, she was still attending Tokyo University's Department of International Affairs. Her choice in degree was a bit humorous since no one understood exactly why she had chosen it considering the blonde girl didn't even know where most of the countries were in the world. However, her best friends knew that her reasoning for choosing international affairs was so that she could become a better Princess in the future. The mutual break-up between her and Mamoru made them all realise that the only way in the world was to live in the present and not take the future for granted. After all, Chibi Usa coming back from the future was proof that it was forever changing and everyone realised that they needed to make their own way into the world before being tied down to their fate.

Makoto yelled in triumph as she removed the last of whatever was inside the turkey.

"Ok, wait there while I go wash the inside of the turkey with a bit of lemon and some salt and bring it back here. I need you to spread the legs apart again so I can fill it up." Ami giggled as Makoto turned away with the turkey towards the sink. The tall senshi stopped and looked back, a smile on her lips masked by the horrified expression on her face.

"Ami! You dirty girl! Wait until Minako hears about this." Ami laughed this time and begged her friend not to divulge her dirty mind to their friends.

Meanwhile, at the arcade Minako and Usagi were having the time of their lives playing on the dance mat, both their milkshakes forgotten with the ice cream slowly melting into chocolate sludge.

"Minako come on! What is wrong with you?" Usagi was out of breath as she tried to keep up with the fast flowing arrows on the screen in front of her.

"Usagi! I just came from a whole day of lessons!" Usagi turned to grin at her friend.

"Come on Minako, if you want to be an international popstar, you have to be able to keep up with commoners like me. You had to be able to dance and sing." Minako was too busy concentrating on the hard steps to reply to her friend and decided to flip her off. Usagi grinned and turned back to her screen happy to see that she was making most of the arrows.

When the dance was over Minako collapsed to the floor and Usagi walked over to her laughing.

"Aww Minako, what's wrong? Are you ok?" Serious concern for her friend overshadowed her previous bubbly personality – it wasn't like Minako to be so out of breath from just three dances.

"Usagi," Minako took her friend's hand and stood, albeit a bit shakily, on her two feet, "I'm exhausted all the time." Minako headed to their usual table and sat down in her chair relieved that she was finally resting. Usagi sat down opposite her and looked at her concerned about her welfare.

"Minako, I told you to take it easy. You can't be doing a degree, going to auditions and working at the same time, it's impossible. You need some time to relax." Minako looked at the piercing blue eyes that were usually twinkling with excitement, but were now looking at her with obvious distress. The blonde beauty slurped her milkshake, shuddered at the warm sludge it had become and leaned back into her chair making a mental note of all her options before voicing them to her friend.

"Well the way I see it I have three options: one, quit university and focus on work and auditions; two, quit work and focus on my dream and university and the third option is give up on my dream and focus on work and university." Minako scowled at the options before her. Usagi pushed her milkshake aside, after seeing Minako's reaction to her milkshake, she decided it was better to forgo drinking it, and took her friend's warm hand into her own.

"Minako, listen to me, you don't have to eliminate anything from what you're doing. You can't quit your degree, you always said you need a fall back in case you can't catch a break. Ordinarily, I would be the one telling you that you have to follow your dream, no matter the cost, but I know that in five, maybe even ten years, if things aren't exactly where you want them to be, you'll look back on your choice and regret it." Minako nodded at her friend's wisdom. "Also, you can't quit your work because we live in a very expensive apartment and all five of us have really expensive taste so we somehow have to keep up our lifestyle." Minako laughed at her friend – Usagi always knew how to balance serious situations with humorous antics.

"Usagi, thanks, I mean, this advice is really good, but I am exhausted all the time! I can't carry on this way." Usagi's demeanour changed to a more determined one.

"Ok listen, cut back on work hours – you already work 30 hours a week, make it 20. Then limit the auditions you go to for roles that you REALLY want. I've heard you moan about shit roles so many times which always has me thinking, even if you got the role, would you want it? And lastly, you are taking two extra credit courses and have three scheduled for next term. Minako, seriously? Even eliminating any extra credit courses you still get a degree – you're doing really well." Minako smiled at her friend; suddenly her worries had all gone away. Usagi's advice was sound and doable – she couldn't imagine giving up on her dream. Her big break was just around the corner, she knew it. She also couldn't imagine not getting her bachelor's degree in psychology – even though she had only been at university for a month, she had come to love her course and everything else about university life. Her job also paid for her expensive life-style, even though her parents sent her a huge chunk of money each month she preferred to put that money away and make it on her own. She could hear her parent's laughter still ringing in her ears after she told them about her dream of becoming a popstar. Thankfully her friends supported her endeavours whole heartedly and cheered her on at every turn. Usagi was perhaps her most avid supporter since she was a big believer in all the girls living out their dreams and aspiring to become the best that they could before they resumed their duties as Sailor Senshi of the Galaxy. She loved her friend to no end and would gladly die to protect her – they were all fiercely loyal to Usagi and the fact that she looked out for them so much made them love her even more. The blonde endearing girl felt guilty that her friends would one day have to take an oath to protect her at all costs when the time came for them to rebuild their empire on the moon. Immortality was going to be a great bore if she didn't have her friends with her and if she did and they weren't happy, immortality was going to suck.

Minako stared at her friend as the other girl attempted to help out a little kid beat a game on his Nintendo. She had blossomed into a beautiful girl who was kind and generous and always willing to help everyone, even if someone had already been nasty to her. Rei, another friend of theirs, had always seen this as a flaw, but Minako saw it as a part of Usagi a part which made her more lovely and charming, if that was possible. After her break up with Mamoru, Usagi had confessed to Minako that she was scared about the future – with Chibi Usa bringing information of a child sired by Mamoru in the future, Usagi thought the pressure was too much. Minako had observed her friend's relationships with guys since Mamoru and saw that all her friend wanted was something light, and fun – she hadn't been in a serious relationship since Mamoru, and nor did she intend to in the short run. Usagi triumphed in the boy's game and completed the level successfully, so she turned back to her friend.

"Hello!" She shook a hand in front of her friend's face bringing her out of her trance, "Anyone home? You've been like that for five minutes! What are you thinking about?" Usagi dared to take a sip of her milkshake and recoiled in horror. Minako laughed at her expression.

"It's vile isn't it?" She laughed and pushed both milkshakes on the table next to them hoping that the waiters wouldn't reprimand her.

"So… what were you thinking of?" Usagi propped her elbows on the table, and placed her chin into her open palms. She looked at her friend hoping for some juicy details.

"I was actually thinking of my parents and how glad I am of having you guys as a family instead of them right now." Usagi smiled at her friend – she had stopped blushing at her friend's sentiments a long time ago when she realised that Minako needed to say those words often to remind herself that her friends would always be there for her no matter what.

"Well, just think, one of us is at home cooking a beautiful dinner feast just for us!"

"Two, you forgot Ami." Usagi grinned.

"You really think Ami is helping out? She's probably on her laptop working on one of the five extra credit courses she's taking!" Minako looked aghast at that.

"Why would she lie to us?" Usagi shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, I think she knows we have ways of convincing her to come out with us." Minako narrowed her eyes.

"This is all Rei's fault! She held her Grey's Anatomy Textbook hostage when she refused to go clubbing with us that one night!" Usagi chuckled at that night's events. They had finally convinced Ami, convince was a relative word to use in this case, to go out with them and Minako had taken it upon herself to dress their friend up for a night out on the town. Usagi was so proud of both her friends that night because Minako had made Ami realise that she needed much preparation to be beautiful and Ami found her lost confidence and actually interacted with people. Rei and Usagi admired from afar while Makoto was busy flirting with the bartender for their free drinks.

"What do you think our chances are of getting her to come with us tomorrow night?" Usagi laughed.

"Slight to none." Minako's eyes gleamed as she looked at Usagi with a mischievous look on her face.

"I'll make a bet with you that I can convince her to come out with us tomorrow night." Usagi licked her lips and smiled.

"Convince? Or convince?" She gave a knowing look to Minako and emphasized the last word.

"Not to toot my own horn, but I can be pretty convincing when I need, and want, to be." The girl smirked at her friend.

"If I win, you have to reorganise my closet." Usagi tried not to laugh at her friend's horrified look.

"If I win then you have to clean the bathroom next week. I hate doing that." Usagi just shrugged – cleaning toilets didn't really bother her. She worked nights as a bartender at one of the hottest clubs in Tokyo and, on occasion, she had to clean the bathrooms after the patrons graced the floor and walls with their dinner.

"Deal!" They shook hands to seal the deal.

A few blocks away a beautiful girl with raven hair was running around a prestigious art gallery making sure everything was ok for the opening exhibition on medieval antiquary two days from now. She heard her phone ringing and pressed the headset connected to her ear to answer it.

"Hino Rei here." The customary way she answered the phone angered her friends to no end, but it was always a huge help to explain who was answering the phone – it saved time instead of having the other person ask to speak to her and then her having to explain that it was her. This was her philosophy anyway.

"Rei! Stop answering your phone like that! Of course we know it's you!" Makoto's voice sounded shrill on the other line. Rei sighed.

"Makoto, I have work to do. Is this important?" Before Makoto could reply Rei spied one of the workers the gallery had hired handling a very expensive antique carelessly. Without removing the headset she yelled at the poor man who looked like he was about to pee by the end of it.

"HEY WATCH IT IDIOT! THAT PIECE COSTS MORE THAN WHAT ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM COMBINED WOULD MAKE IN A CENTURY!" She couldn't see the girl on the other side of the line cringing and holding her phone far away from her ear as possible. "Makoto, I have to go, text me if it's important. I have to go deal with people's incompetency." Without waiting for her friend's reply she clicked the headset to end the phone call and went to yell at the worker some more. Makoto, meanwhile, had rung to see if Rei preferred a simple "Spinach with Bosc Pears Salad" or a "Squash and Orso Salad". She turned to her blue haired friend who was nowhere in sight – the missing laptop didn't escape her notice. Frustrated, she punched in Usagi's number on her phone. After a few rings she could hear the bubbly girl's voice on the other line.

"Hello Makoto! Minako and I are nearly home so write down any chores we have to do." Makoto cringed and moved faster to clean the kitchen up before her friends could come and ruin it.

"Well, I'm nearly done with preparing tonight's feast for Rei and I rang her to ask whether she wanted a simple "Spinach with Bosc Pears Salad" or a "Squash and Orso Salad". But she had to go yell at some workers before I could ask her this and told me to text her if it was anything important. If it where me, this would be a very important question for me, but would it be for her?" Makoto was genuinely worried but Usagi stayed silent trying to gauge just how serious her friend was. A few moments later, Makoto guessed that she conferred Minako in on Makoto's dilemma, her voice could be heard again.

"Ok, I think you should go with the pear salad, bosc pears are still pears right?" Makoto made a noise that Usagi took as a yes and continued, "instead of the other one because neither Minako nor I know what squash or orso is and chances are, neither would Rei, and you know how confused she gets when you serve her food she doesn't know of." Makoto slapped her forehead.

"Of course! I forgot about that!" She heard Usagi give a small chuckle on the other line. "Ok thanks guys! On your way home can you bring a spiced cider and a special package I ordered from Mr Yoshimodo? I'm chopping up fruits for a chocolate fondue desert." She heard Usagi smack her lips and relay this information to Minako who yelped with joy.

"You're making chocolate from scratch?"

"Mhm!" The tall girl grinned as she lifted the tray with the turkey and put it in the oven. "The special package is cocoa beans all the way from Chuao Venezuala!" Makoto sounded really excited but this was all Greek to Usagi who didn't know anything about cooking. Makoto stuck her tongue out as she gauged the oven temperature to her special recipe – the oven was quite old and she had concentrate really hard and squint at the faded numbers and pictures on the knobs.

"See you soon Makoto! Minako is practically running to Mr Yoshimodo and hopes to get extra cacao beans so that you can make more which we can lick while you clean up." Makoto heard the phone click before she could tell the girls that she had ordered enough cacao beans to make enough chocolate to last them for a long time. She sighed and placed the phone on the counter before moving at the speed of lightening to clean up the kitchen. She honestly did not want to assign any chores to her friends because it always ended up as a disaster.

* * *

><p>Makoto checked on her turkey which was cooking beautifully in the kitchen before turning back to her grilled vegetables.<p>

"I like to cook and have food in my tummy." She hummed as she swayed to imaginary music which only she could hear. This was her mantra when she cooked – a mantra that none of her friends got and, quite frankly, were a little disturbed every time she uttered it.

"Mmm, turkey smells so good!" Usagi popped her head into the kitchen and grinned at her friend.

"Usagi! Have you and Minako set the table?" Usagi nodded. "Ok great! Turkey should be done in 15 minutes, the chocolate is cooking beautifully and I've made a whole stash of chocolate crescent moons," this elicited a giggle from Usagi, "and various other planets!" Usagi grinned at her friend who looked so at home in the kitchen.

"I tried one with Mina, they were amazing!" Indeed they were! The crescent moon shaped chocolates were stuffed with white chocolate; the Venus heart shaped chocolates had a tangy orange taste; the fire shaped chocolates had a hint of red pepper spice which gave the chocolate an exotic taste; the lightning bolt shaped chocolates were made half chocolate half mint; and the circular shaped chocolates bubbled in their mouth.

"Usagi, it's my job. I make food and I get paid for it."

"Yeah, but you work at a seedy burger joint. You don't get to use your talents there at all."

"Yeah but you forget, I go to one of the most elite culinary schools in Tokyo and I learn from the best." She winked at her friend and tapped her temple.

"Stupid seedy burger joint – when can you get a job in one of those really nice restaurants so we can actually go there and be seated with no problem?" Makoto narrowed her eyes at the blonde girl.

"Well you'll be happy to know that I applied for a new job today." Usagi's eyes beamed with happiness. She ran up to her friend bouncing on the spot and talking a mile a minute.

"Ohhh! Are you a sous-chef at Chez Mariano's? Oooo! No! Casa Di Mare? Oh no wait! You got a job at Marcello's? Makoto I'm so proud of you!" Makoto shook her head trying to keep up with her friend's exhuberance.

"Usagi, calm down, those places wouldn't accept me as a cleaner without having a degree." Usagi's eyes fell and she looked to the ground embarrassed. "I applied for the little café, Old Movies, three blocks away from my school. It'll be a much easier commute and it's close to home!" Usagi's eyes brightened once more.

"Oh! They make amazing bun cakes and really good milkshakes! Makoto, you have to get that job! Then we can all hang out there and eat your amazing food!" Makoto laughed and put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Usagi, I haven't got the job yet. If they accept my application I have to go interview with them and I'm thinking of taking some of the chocolates I made." Usagi looked crestfallen.

"What? No… those chocolates are so good you can't give them away." She frowned and sniffed at the thought of being parted with the chocolate.

"Relax Usagi, you and Minako brought so much cacao beans that I have enough to make three whole boxes of them." She pointed to the boxes on the counter which were big enough to fit two shoeboxes in.

"Oh wow!" Usagi rushed over the boxes and eagerly opened them hoping to find them full of chocolate, but instead, she found them empty. She turned to look at Makoto with a sad look on her face. "Where's the chocolate?" She asked sadly.

"I cooked a whole stuffed turkey, made pasta arrabiata from scratch, made lentil soup, grilled vegetables, cleaned the kitchen, made chocolate, from scratch, and cleaned the kitchen again. I made enough chocolate for the fondue tonight and to experiment – I'll fill the boxes up later." Usagi ran to her friend and hugged her.

"What would we do without you? You even make disgusting lentil soup because it's Rei's favourite!" Someone shuffling into the kitchen caught both the girls' attention – Rei had just walked in.

"Mmmm, something smells really good in here Makoto!" She closed her eyes and took a long, hard sniff and sighed with happiness. "Lentil soup! Yummy!" The raven haired beauty opened her eyes and looked at Usagi with a smirk on her face. "You should eat some of that soup Usagi, it's really healthy." While Makoto turned to check on the kitchen, Usagi fleeted over to Rei.

"Rei, my dear, the day I eat lentil soup is the day hell freezes over." Makoto turned from the oven to look at her friends.

"Hey, didn't we already stop that from happening?" She grinned at her two friends. Ami and Minako just happened to walk in at that moment.

"What did we stop from happening?" Minako asked and took a sniff. "Makoto, it smells amazing in here!"

"Makoto was saying that we stopped hell from freezing over." Usagi walked over to Minako and winked at her before leaving the room to bring some of the chocolate Makoto had made.

"Well, we didn't technically stop hell from freezing over, but we did save the world from going all evil." Usagi came back into the kitchen with the bowl of chocolates and offered one to Ami. She took one of the bubbly ones and popped it into her mouth.

"Good God this is amazing!" She exclaimed and leaned forward to take another one.

"Hey!" Makoto yelled. "You're going to spoil your dinner!" Ami put the chocolate back into the bowl guiltily – she was the only one who listened to Makoto however as the other three girls took two extra chocolates and grinned at Makoto's retreating back. Ami laughed and went to help Makoto.

"Need any help?" Makoto nodded. I've served the vegetables, the mashed potatoes, the pasta and the soup if you can take it to the table and I'll bring the turkey. Ami nodded and beckoned to the other girls to help her. They all brought over the food and sat down waiting for Makoto to bring the piece de la resistance of the dinner.

"Here's the turkey!" Makoto brought over the turkey served in a porcelain dish; the turkey looked to be cooked precisely right and the juices running into a pool at the bottom of the turkey made the girls' mouths water.

"Rei, you sit at the head of the table, since this dinner is in your honour. If you want, you can also carve it." Rei nodded silently and took the carving tools from near her plate at the head of the table.

"Before dinner, a toast." Usagi stood up holding a glass of deep, red plum juice.

"Hear Hear." The girls said in once voice and all tapped their knives against their glasses. Usagi cleared her voice and spoke:

"Tonight, we honour Hino Rei, a girl who has proved time and time again that she is capable of any task she is assigned. This summer she interned at one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world, was treated like shit, had absolutely no free time to herself but it all paid off – literally. They gave her a part-time job to go with her Art History degree at Tokyo University. Tonight we honour her hard work and perseverance. Not only did her boss assign her one of the most important event galleries, but she has managed to pull everything off without a hitch. Two days from now will be her ultimate night of showing off her hard work of procuring rare medieval antiquaries to important buyers from all over Japan and Asia!" She raised her glass in Rei's direction. "I would also like to add that tonight could not have happened without Kino Makoto, whose ability to cook an amazing dinner can surpass any Michelin awarded chef in the world. This is a testament to Rei's friendship, a friendship which we all value or else we wouldn't have been here tonight." She raised her glass once more and took a sip before sitting down. Rei smiled and expressed her gratitude for Usagi's kind words and Makoto's feast.

"Did you see all those boxes outside in the hallway, and those boxes downstairs?"

"Yeah, apartment 2B is about to be let."

"I wonder who's moving in." Usagi mused.

"I hope we have at least one good looking guy!" Rei grumbled. The other girls grinned – between Rei's work and her degree, she didn't have any time left to meet new guys and she was getting frustrated.

"The last tenants were all crazy!" Ami nodded at her friend.

"I know right! I mean, I know I'm considered a nerd, but they were… another specimen all together! They got angry at me when I played some jazz music last month and my window was open so they heard and came over to complain."

"They complained at you Ami? Why didn't you tell me? I would have beaten them to a pulp." Ami smiled at her boisterous friend.

"Violence is not the answer, Sailor Jupiter." Ami always used their Senshi titles when she told them off.

"Whatever, Rei's right, I hope we get really cute guys move next to us." Usagi turned to her blonde friend and grinned.

"Ran out of guys to date on campus?" Minako stuck her tongue out at her.

"No… anyway, who's to say they aren't university students?" Minako pointed out.

"I hope they aren't."

"Well if they are, maybe they can be third years."

"Or post graduate students!"

"I just hope they're sensible." All four girls turned to their friend and grumbled at her. She just gave them a pointed look and continued eating.

"Ami, only you can think that the best kind of neighbour is a quiet one. Have you got no other requirements?"

"I hope they aren't serial killers." Makoto scoffed at the girl's response and cut up her turkey with a little more force than necessary.

"Well, it's going to be five people moving in there, that apartment is the mirror of ours, just on the other side." Rei noted.

"I hope it's not five girls… can you imagine if we don't get along? It's going to be drama central." They all laughed and shrugged off the nervous feeling if it turned out that there were going to be all girls.

"We should go meet them after dinner!" Just as Usagi said that a knock was heard on the door. The four girls looked at her and burst out laughing before they all scraped their chairs backwards and ran to the door.

"I should answer, I'm the tallest." Rei looked at Makoto in horror.

"No, this is my night, I should go!" Rei pushed Makoto away but Minako jumped in front of her.

"No, it should be me, I'm the friendliest." As the three girls whispered their reasons over who should answer the door, Ami and Usagi walked to the door and peeped through the whole. A blonde boy stood at the door tapping his foot impatiently. He moved to knock again but Ami opened the door just in time.

"Hello." She smiled as she opened the door to reveal herself. Usagi peered at the boy from behind her friend and gawked at his good looks. The man was seriously hunky. The girls who were fighting behind the door stopped and joined Usagi in staring at the unexpected visitor.

"Hi, I'm from Apartment 2B and I was just wondering whether you have a broom we could borrow." Ami blinked at the boy – Usagi noted a hint of blush appearing in her cheeks. She smiled, even Ami found this boy good looking.

"Sure, hold on a minute." Before she could fetch the broom Makoto ran into the kitchen and came back with their broom.

"Here you go." The boy grinned at her.

"Thanks! We just moved in and my brother managed to break a vase and two lamps already." The girls laughed – the boy seemed to have an easy going personality.

"Have you moved here with your family?" Ami asked. The boy laughed – his laugh mesmerised all the girls into a trance.

"Oh God no! I moved here with my three brothers and our best friend. I'm in my third year, two of my brothers are doing their masters and my eldest brother is starting his PhD with our best friend."

"Oh interesting! What do you study?" The boy was about to answer before a gruff voice yelled at him from inside his house.

"YO ZOISITE! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU WITH THAT BROOM? YOUR IDIOT BROTHER WALKED INTO THE LIVING ROOM BAREFOOT AND DYMI REFUSES TO HEAL HIM IF HE STEPS ON THE SHARDS SINCE IT'S HIS FAULT!" Zoisite grinned at the girls, not at all embarrassed at his brother's outburst.

"I gotta go girls, but we should do this again soon." Rei narrowed her eyes at him.

"What, take another cleaning apparatus of ours? That's our only broom so we'd better get it back." Zoisite smiled at the girl and bowed.

"I will return it as soon as I can my lady." He waved at the girls and ran into their house.

With the door closed they could hear the boy yell back at his roommate.

"OY SHUT IT NEPH, THE CUTE NEIGHBOURS HEARD YOU BEING RUDE!" The girls giggled at being called cute. They fled back into their house and closed the door before hearing the other roommate's response.

"Well that was interesting." Minako looked at her friends and they all burst out laughing again. A few moments later they heard a knock on the door again. Puzzled, Usagi, who was closest to the door opened it to reveal the boy from before and his flatmate – both were grinning.

"Your broom." He smiled at Usagi and presented their broom back as if it were a precious sceptre. Usagi looked back at Rei who relieved the boy of his load. "I am Zoisite, this is my brother Nephrite. As you can tell, my mother was obsessed with jewellery." Makoto clung onto Minako's arm with a little more force than the blonde girl could handle.

"Watch it!" Minako growled and winced as the taller girl used her nails

"Mina, that boy is gorgeous!" Minako turned to get a better look at the new comer.

"He's good looking but not that good looking enough to warrant bodily harm!" Her sarcasm was lot on her friend who was still staring at the new boy.

"Well, we'll talk again soon, Ami." Makoto jerked her head to look at Ami who had introduced herself to the boy. Ami smiled and waved goodbye before she closed the boy. The girls heard a noise on the other side of the door which sounded like a high-five but they couldn't actually be sure.

"Well, one thing's for sure, if their other three flatmates are that good looking, we're all going to have a splendid time." Minako smiled.

"The tall brunette one is mine!" Makoto put her hand up before any of the other girls could react.

"I prefer the blonde one." Minako turned to Ami and grinned, she nudged her shoulder in a teasing manner.

"I just hope they're not loud." Ami sighed and moved toward her room.

"Don't deny it Ami! I SAW YOU CHECKING OUT THE BLONDE ONE!" Minako yelled at her friend's retreating back. A knock was heard again on the door – Ami stopped and turned, her face pale.

"That had better not be…" She whispered. Minako cringed hoping that it wasn't their new blond neighbour.

"How?" She mouthed as Usagi went to open the door. It was indeed their blonde neighbour who had asked for the broom again. Makoto ran into the kitchen again noting her friend's discomfort and came back with the broom.

"Keep it." She said as she shoved the broom into his hands and slammed the door in his face.

"Makoto, that was rude!" Usagi whispered.

"Do you think he heard what Mina said?" Ami's voice was barely audible from shame.

"Ami, I'm so sorry." Mina put an arm around her shoulder.

"It's fine Mina, I don't really care. I just hope he doesn't get the wrong impression." She smiled at her friend who sighed with relief.

"So what if he heard? The worst thing that could happen is nothing." Surprisingly enough Rei's comment made sense. Ami hugged her friend and assured her that she was fine before going into her room to study some more.

Usagi turned to Makoto.

"Makoto, I'll help you clear up." Rei and Makoto cringed at the same time. Last time Usagi had cleared the table, she left the girls with three plates, two spoons, one knife and four forks less. She had thrown the cutlery away in her haste to go read manga and broke the plates by tripping over the carpet.

"Usagi, I'll clear the plates away. You have work in two hours so you should go rest." Usagi nodded and scampered off to her room not guessing the real reason for her dismissal. She got dressed and set her alarm for ten thirty. Tonight the club was catering a party for a spoilt rich 22 year old who thought that her father's money could buy her everything – apparently she didn't know that class was earned and manners were taught. Usagi was the only one who could deal with her since she was the nicest bartender and her manager put her in charge since the girl had managed to anger every single one of his bartenders, including himself. Usagi sighed as she snuggled into her blankets. Tonight was going to be a long night she thought before sleep overtook her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>

I have recently become obsessed with Sailor Moon and I love anime in general. This is my second story on FF so I probably won't be updating as often as I should – my first fanfiction always takes precedence.

A few things to note:

+ The parings will be just as Takeuchi intended:

Zoisite/Ami – Usagi/Mamoru – Nephrite/Makoto – Kunzite/Minako – Jadeite/Rei

+ Ages:

The girls are all 18 years old. They started university a year later than most people do for reasons which will be explained later on.

Mamoru & Kunzite – 22

Nephrite & Jadeite – 21

Zoisite – 20


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Someone pointed out that I forgot to mention Jadeite's age; he's 21, like Nephrite. Hope that clears things up.

* * *

><p>Chapter 2 – Usagi, Moon Princess and Alien Waitress<p>

Usagi walked out of her room cursing her manager once more for forcing the staff to wear this ridiculous outfit. She smoothed out any wrinkles in her futuristic blue skirt and made sure her headband was on straight. She walked into the kitchen hoping Makoto had put the coffee on.

As soon as she entered the kitchen she was met with all of her friends laughing at her as if they were all in on the same joke. Usagi just scowled and moved toward the caffeine.

"Usagi…what…the…hell…are…you…wearing?" Rei said between laughs. The blonde girl just narrowed her eyes and took a gulp of her coffee.

"Now girls, don't tease her. The woman hosting the party is a big fan of 30th century fashion so they all have to dress according to her likes." The girls instantly pulled a face at Ami's words.

"That's considered fashion?" Mina's voice sounded confused.

"Who the hell knows what 30th century fashion looks like?" Rei asked twisting her beautiful face into a confused look.

"Usagi's a moon princess, she can't go out dressed like that." Usagi turned to her tall friend who had an annoying habit of mothering her quite often.

"Mako, I'll be fine." Makoto's face turned stern.

"You'll catch a cold!" She leaned back and took a coat that was hanging off from Rei's chair.

"Hey that's my coat!" The raven girl yelped. Makoto turned to give her one of her infamous stares that rendered her silent.

"Wear this and once you're inside you can take it off." Usagi scoffed but still took the coat offered to her. She looked at her watch and squealed,

"Oh NO! I'm gonna be late!" Usagi gulped down the rest of her coffee, thankfully it was luke-warm by now, and rushed out the door leaving her friends to laugh at her constant tardiness.

"Some things never change." Rei mused as she sipped her tea.

Usagi ran out of the door and made a mental note checking that she had gotten everything, including her bag. She didn't have time to button up her coat before running down the hallway and bumping shoulders with someone coming from the opposite direction.

"Hey!" A male gruff voice shouted. Usagi brushed the man off and ran yelling an apology over her shoulder as she ran through the doors and down the stairs leaving the man to stare after her in bewilderment.

"That looks an awful lot like…" The man stopped muttering and shook his head. Being back in his home country after so many years was getting to him; there was no way he was living opposite his old girlfriend's house. _You baka, everywhere you go you think you see Usako._ He muttered curses under his breath while putting the key into his door. The scene before his eyes was…to say the least…a shock.

"Nephrite….Zoicite? Are you… cleaning?" The shaggy haired man shook his head in disbelief. The two boys, who were currently scrubbing the floor, looked up and gave their friend a cheeky grin.

"Dymi, we were just making our house a home." Their friend narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"You two never clean. In fact, Kunzite and I had to constantly bug you to pull your weight around the house in Boston." His last comment was directed at the brunette.

"Hey, we can clean the house if we want."

"What's the deal?" Nephrite sighed and got up, he threw the brush into the bucket and walked toward his friend.

"Dymi, we live next door to angels! Five girls, one for the each of us, that look as if they were sculpted by the Gods themselves." Zoicite scoffed at his brother's comparisons.

"Dymi, don't listen to him. They're way out of our league." Nephrite turned to his brother and scolded him.

"What do you mean out of our league? No girl is out of girl, in fact, we're the guys who are out of girl's leagues." Zoicite got up as well and walked toward his brother, arms crossed against his chest.

"What I mean to say, brother," He growled, "was that they're probably all looking for romance and shit. We are not in a position to give it to them."

"Hey, that blue-haired chica was looking at you like she wouldn't mind a piece of the action."

"Yes, but when it boils down to what these kind of girls really want, it's romance. We've all tried it before and got burned." Both brothers turned to look at their friend who blushed – he was the one burned most by romance in the past.

"When have you ever been burned by love brother? From what I remember, you spent your first and second year sleeping with every girl on your course." Nephrite scorned his younger brother.

"Hey, there was that girl, what's her name…Asami," He clicked his fingers at remembering her name, "I thought she and I would be together for a long time but sadly she preferred my older brother and was only going out with me because she thought she could make him jealous." His friend turned to look at him, confusion clearly written all over his face.

"Weren't you doing exactly the same thing with her for her sister?" Zoicite stopped to think before he formed a small O with his mouth, finally remembering his plan for wooing Asami.

"Ah yes true. But! I actually did like Asami, her sister was just a bonus."

"Yeah, you got the better end of the stick, at least you got to sleep with her sister. Kunzite didn't even turn to look at Asami." His brother stared at him pointedly.

"Anyway!" Zoicite glared at his brother before turning to their friend. "I have claim on the blue-haired girl while Nephrite has claim on the tall one." At his friend's confused look he explained, "You'll be able to tell you they are. They're pretty hard to miss – all five of them are completely different."

"Except the two blonde girls." His brother pointed out.

"Right! But the way in which they carry themselves makes them look different for some reason."

"Idiot." His brother said under his breath.

"Hey watch it. I'm the baby of the family and I'll tell mama on you." Nephrite stuck his tongue out at his brother.

"Shut it little bro and the only reason you're here with us is because you went to mama and cried to get her to threaten us with no monthly stipend if we didn't put up with you." Zoicite turned to look at his brother, eyes wide from shock.

"What? She told you I cried?" His eyes narrowed. "Why that liar!" A door closing brought everyone's attention to a tall muscular man exiting his room.

"Watch what you say about mama." The man threatened before walking into the kitchen. His voice sounded like he had just woken up.

"Kunzite! You're awake!" Nephrite yelled. The three boys followed him into the kitchen.

"Why did you call mama liar?" The burly man opened the fridge and took out a carton of orange juice; after inspecting the contents and sniffing it to see if it was expired, he put the spout to his lips and started drinking.

"Oy! That's for all of us you twit!" His friend yelled from the door. Kunzite stopped drinking from the carton to reply to his friend.

"Relax! There's not enough in here for all of us." As if proving his point he put the carton back to his lips and drank the last dredges of the orange juice.

"Whatever. Now to business. I didn't tell mama to threaten you so that I could come live with you. I was fine living in my studio apartment." Kunzite gave his youngest brother a glare before turning to their other brother.

"What have you been telling him?" The brunette boy looked at him with a blank expression.

"Nothing." He sounded innocent, a little too innocent for Kunzite's liking.

"Nephrite, you shouldn't tell lies." He turned to his blonde brother and sighed. "Zoicite, you hated living alone which is why I told you to join us.

"Hey, I'm not complaining, I get booze living here." His brother glared at him.

"No drinking for you until next year." Zoicite grinned at him.

"My, my, America really has changed you. I'm pretty sure you spent three years there not drinking one drop."

"Our brother seems to have forgotten frat parties and sorority after parties with his head down the toilet."

"You, shut up. This isn't the example you should be setting for our youngest brother." Nephrite grinned at his youngest brother, his pearly whites gleaming.

"You can drink from my stash, I'm legal now too." He turned to his eldest brother, "and you, don't play dumb with us. I can name the days you spent not drinking each year on my fingers! Zoicite has the best grades in his year and is probably graduating with highest honours. He's allowed to let go. Plus, if we don't give it to him, he'll get it elsewhere." Kunzite just sighed and went to the fridge hoping to find something to satiate his hunger.

"As long as he keeps his grades up which gives him the scholarship, I'm good with what he does." He found a tupperwear with questionable contents; a thorough inspection and a few sniffs later, he had already dug into the mysterious contents with a fork.

"Kunzite, what the hell is that?" His friend looked at him with a look of horror on his face.

"I don't know." He chewed thoughtfully for a bit before shovelling more food into his mouth. "It's not half bad though." He resumed his chewing while his brothers and friend looked disgusted.

"Mate, we haven't cooked in this house in two weeks and haven't gone grocery shopping in a month." Kunzite looked at his food and shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever." He shovelled the remaining contents of the tupperwear into his mouth and emptied it. He took the plastic container to the sink and rinsed it a bit before leaving it there to wash up later. "I'm off to the gym, then I'm going to the library to study. You coming?" He turned to his friend who shook his head.

"I have that party to get to." Zoicite grinned.

"Oh! That alien party from your high school friend?" His friend nodded.

"Man, I would love to have gone with you, just to see all those girls dressed up as sexy aliens, but I have to study." Nephrite clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Who said you were invited?" Nephrite looked at his friend with arrogance in his eyes.

"Hello, we all got an invitation, remember? We were with you when you saw her again and she invited us so that the hunk to babe ratio would be adequate." His friend scoffed at him.

"That's not what she said." Zoicite, for some reason, laughed really hard at that.

"What did she say Dymi?" Zoicite gave him an exaggerated wink which he still didn't understand. His brothers, who got the innuendo, just shook their head at their youngest brother's immaturity.

"Er… she said that it would be ok if I brought you guys." Nephrite grinned.

"And we're coming."

"Count me out!" Kunzite yelled as the bread he had put into the toaster popped up which he grabbed and put into his mouth. "See you!" He gave them a wave before leaving the kitchen.

"Count me out too. There's a documentary on the History of Influenza." His friend's eyes lit up.

"Aw man! I really wanted to watch that! Tape it for me?"

"Sure!" Zoicite waved off his friend's thanks as he walked out of the kitchen.

"You guys are weird." Nephrite's expression was so amusing that his friend just had to laugh.

"Come on Nephrite, let's go get changed, I don't want to be late. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave."

"Aww, we'll miss all the fun! What time does the party start?"

"12 30 at "Club Zirconia". Nephrite congratulated the girl on the good choice of a club – the female bartenders were really good looking there.

"Dymi, just make sure you don't wear that hideous green jacket." His friend just stuck his tongue out at him and left.

* * *

><p>"So you're a chemist?" Jadeite rubbed his temple for what must have been the thousandth time today.<p>

"No, I study chemistry, that doesn't make me a chemist." The girl under his arm frowned as she tried to think about how that made sense. Jadeite inwardly groaned – he knew the girl he had picked up at the bar was a bit stupid, but not to this extent.

"Listen, Kei, don't bother your pretty little head over it; if you want me to be a chemist, I'll be a chemist. Just don't come to me with any prescriptions." Jadeite laughed at his own joke while Kei still tried to work out the logistics of the joke. Jadeite's laugh faded as his expression turned to dread – he usually had more luck with the women he brought home, but tonight his sensors were seriously off.

"Why would I bring my prescriptions to you?" Kei looked at him confusedly.

"Because you said I was a chemist and…" Jadeite shook his head. He didn't even know why he was explaining his "joke" to Kei since it wasn't like she was going to understand it. "My place is just around the corner." Kei just smiled and snuggled into his embrace. Jadeite sighed in relief and pulled her closer – she might not have had any brains, but she was a beauty with a smoking body. He didn't seem to notice a raven haired girl walking in the opposite direction toward the elevator who had heard the whole patronising exchange between him and his date.

_If anyone treated me that way I would have karate chopped him in the guts! _Rei thought as she passed the happy couple on her way to the elevator. _But what do you expect from a girl like her? Perfect hair, perfect body and perfect face. _Rei was just like any other girl – she only saw what she thought were faults; her hair was too straight and didn't have enough volume, her breasts were a little on the small side, her legs were a little big from the muscle she had grown during her days as a Sailor Senshi, her eyes were set a little too close and were too big for her liking while her nose wasn't cute and small like Usagi's, but instead it was long and straight. She looked at her clothes and sighed again – that girl was wearing the latest fashion – a small black dress designed by Calvin Klein, Rei knew designers and she knew that her budget didn't accommodate Calvin Klein dresses; instead she was currently wearing an over-sized jumper over skin-tight jeans and hunter boots. She was usually dressed much classier but it was nearly midnight when she got the call from the art gallery saying that someone had broken a glass showcase with jewellery from medieval times. Her boss wanted her to go check it out because there would be an appraisal tomorrow morning before the auction in two days and they wouldn't be able to fix it before the people came.

_And now, instead of being in bed with a nice book and a cup of hot cocoa, cocooned in a blanket, I have to venture out in minus 300 degree, ok that's an exaggeration, Makoto said it was more like minus 10 degrees, and deal with idiots who broke the showcase in the first place! _Rei zipped up her rain jacket with a little more force than necessary as she stepped into the elevator and started putting on her winter accessories on the journey down. Ordinarily she would have taken the stairs, since she was just on the second floor, but the staircase area tended to be really cold during this time of the day. Once the elevator doors opened to reveal the windows of the ground floor all frosted with the snow outside, she braced herself for the coming cold. Making sure her hat covered her ears she took a deep sigh and opened the door.

Meanwhile, upstairs Jadeite had actually noticed the raven-haired girl and her beauty did not go amiss. As he took out his keys to unlock his front door, he peered at the end of the corridor making sure that there were no other apartments – he smiled when he noticed no other apartment which meant that meant that he would be seeing a lot of his gorgeous new neighbour.

"So…do you live alone?" Kei peered at her date from under her eye-lashes. She made her voice purr in a way that left Jadeite's body tingling with excitement.

"Nope. I live with my four…well three brothers and one best friend." He nearly laughed at his slip-up; he and his brothers had grown accustomed to calling Mamoru their brother ever since they found out he was the long-lost prince they were meant to protect. He had become more of a friend-type rather than a superior-type figure to all four brothers. It was weird, while their memories of Crystal Tokyo were intact, there were memory lapses all four brothers could feel they had but Mamoru, Endymion, remained tight-lipped about their past.

"Ooo, will I get to meet any of them?" She laughed as she took a look around the room hoping to find one of the brothers in some nook of the house. She wanted to see whether she had hit the jackpot with Jadeite, or whether the whole family was good looking.

"I hope not." Jadeite muttered. His brothers had an affinity for embarrassing him in front of girls calling him a French dandy whenever they were around and teasing his European dressing style.

"What did you say?" Kei looked up at him smiling – Jadeite just had to smile back.

"Nothing. I was just saying they could be here, but they're most probably at a party we were all invited to." Kei's eyes flashed with hopefulness; maybe she and Jadeite would make an appearance at the party after…after they rested at home… together.

"What kind of party?"

"Oh an old classmate of our best friend's." Jadeite ignored the hopeful look in Kei's eyes – he didn't want to go to that party since stuffy clubs weren't really his thing. He preferred bars and open spaces with a classier décor.

"Oh… that's ok. We can do something some other time." Kei smiled at him and then hugged his arm begging for a grand tour of the house.

After they were done, he had shown her the kitchen, the guest bathroom and his room – she wanted to look into his brothers' rooms too but he said that it would be an invasion of their privacy. He failed to mention that when they were alone they barged into each other's rooms all the time and borrowed each other's things without asking. Such was the life of brothers and such was the life of flat mates.

"Wow, your room is actually really tidy. Most guys usually live in a dump." Jadeite always had his room clean because he was a bit obsessive compulsive when it came to keeping his area tidy. He was, however, very confused to find the living room spotless. Last he heard Nephrite had broken two vases and lamp, or was it two lamps and one vase?, and there was no way he and Zoicite would have cleaned up.

"We like to keep our apartment tidy. Parents sometimes make an unexpected visit since they don't live too far away from here." Jadeite mused at the last "inspection" his stepmother had done with her sons. He usually left when she came to visit because he served as a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity therefore she hated him with a passion, but that day he was with his brothers when she barged into their apartment. He had his own place with Nephrite in the centre of town while they both worked during their gap year – his job required a lot of travelling so their humble abode was indeed humble and, Nephrite swore, rat infested. His step-mother nearly had a coronary when she saw the dump they were living in and it took Nephrite two hours, and a phone call from Kunzite in America, to make her understand that they were guys who were just trying to make it on their own. Then of course Jadeite was to blame because he didn't ask his grandfather, who was one of the richest men in Paris, for a loan. Jadeite shook the memories away and focused on the beauty in front of him.

"So…" Before Kei could finish her sentence, Jadeite's door burst open and his "twin" brother came barging into the room without noticing the couple and went straight to Jadeite's wardrobe. He pulled open the door and started rummaging through his brother's clothes making quite a mess on the floor. Jadeite and Kei just stared, the former with a faint smile, the latter with a look of horror on how this…naked man… had just barged into the room unannounced.

"Ahem." Jadeite coughed politely. Nephrite turned to see his brother sitting on the bed with a pretty girl looking at him with a raised eyebrow and amused expression.

"Heya brother!" The naked boy, conscious now of his public nakedness hid behind the cupboard door. "My room is still a mess from all the packing and unpacking, everything is still in boxes and I need an outfit.

"You could have knocked." The naked man just shrugged in response. "Whatever, borrow whatever you want just burn the outfit after use. I'm not touching anything your junk touched."

"Hey we're brothers…. We're TWINS!" Nephrite enunciated. "We share everything." Jadeite just shook his head at his brother and remained silent. "So, what's your name?" The naked man had found an outfit for his party and was getting dressed but Nephrite had always hated the silence so he decided to find out as much as he could about his brother's date – not that she would stick around for much, they never did.

"Kei." Nephrite nodded,

"Respect." Kei looked at him, confused.

"Excuse me?" Nephrite peeked from the behind the cupboard door.

"Respect, Kei, your name? It means respect in Japanese." He went back to getting dressed. Jadeite noticed the confusion clearly on his date's face. After, what seemed like an eternity, she finally got what Nephrite was saying and grinned.

"Oh! So you know about names?"

"Kind of. I love finding out the meaning behind names and seeing whether the person's personality matches their name." Nephrite sounded like he was struggling – Jadeite guessed that he was probably putting on trousers; while they were both very tall, Nephrite legs were much more muscular than Jadeite's slightly less muscular physique. Also, Jadeite's taste was more European and opted for tighter jeans rather than the slacks his brothers chose to wear.

"So what do your and your brother's names mean?"

"Nephrite and Jadeite are both jade coloured crystals. Our father owns a jewellery store in Tokyo and he thought it would be funny to name his children after lesser known jewels." Kei's eyes gleamed at the term "jewellery store", something which didn't escape Jadeite's attention. She was turning out to be just like every other girl he dated – once they found out who his father was, they all attached themselves to him like honey glaze. He didn't mind though; he used them just as much as they used him and the feeling was mutual; after all, he doubted any girl would find his surliness and promiscuity appealing – also his apathy toward relationships and lack of direction in his life was a big turn off for some girls.

"So what colour crystals are your names?" Nephrite poked his head from behind the cupboard again, eyebrow raised very high. He gave his brother a funny look as if to say "are you for real" but received a mere shrug in response.

"Er… they're both green."

"Oooo, pretty colour." Kei made a mental note to wear more green clothes – well she had to buy some first since green wasn't in style right now and she didn't have any green accessories either.

"Yeah, green is a pretty colour." After throwing his brother another look Nephrite went back to getting dressed.

"How do I look?" He emerged almost seconds later dressed in very tight fitting jeans, a deep blue Ralph Lauren polo neck long sleeved shirt and a black blazer which seemed a little snug on his broad shoulders. Kei's eyes widened.

"You look really good." Nephrite smirked at his brother before thanking the girl and leaving the room. He did indeed look very good – his shaggy brown hair was still slightly damp from his shower, and the blue colour of the shirt brought out the intense colour in his green eyes.

"Have fun!" His brother yelled before the door slammed the echo of his words. He turned to his date who was smiling seductively at him.

"How that we're alone…" She trailed off, her voice returning to the sultry, slight purr she had adopted before. Jadeite grinned and leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

><p>Nephrite chuckled as he put on his coat – his brother had netted a strange one. She was indeed very beautiful, prettier than any of their neighbours next door, but she was dumb as doorknob. He doubted their neighbours were devoid of any intelligence – worry broke over the handsome student's face, they couldn't be as stupid as Kei, could they? He shrugged off his worries and opened the door where he heard the dulcet tones of his neighbour's yelling muffled by their closed door.<p>

"MINA! I TOLD YOU THAT'S NOT HOW TIME TRAVEL WORKS!" It sounded like the tall pretty brunette yelling.

"MAKO, AND I TOLD YOU THAT'S HOW IT WORKS." Nephrite stood in the hallway listening to their argument.

"That movie will make no sense. He already came back in the past as a bad robot and now he's going to be back as a future bad robot going to the past as a good robot." Nephrite strained his ear to hear as the yelling had stopped. What the hell were they talking about?

"TERMINATOR! HE'S A TERMINATOR, NOT A ROBOT!" Ah, the yelling had started again.

"HE'S A ROBOT!"

"THE MOVIE IS CALLED TERMINATOR!" Nephrite grinned; the girls had good taste.

"WHATEVER! The new movie will make no sense, mark my words!" He heard the other girl sigh – who was she? Perhaps she was the raven-haired girl, but she didn't strike him as a Terminator fan.

"Anyway, we already know how time-travel works, we are first hand witnesses to it." The girls laughed while the nosy boy look confused. What did she mean "first hand"? He looked at his watch and smacked his forehead – it was late. He would contemplate his neighbours' words another time.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the party Mamoru was getting extremely bored. He was one of the first people there since Nephrite had yelled at him to go on without him since he didn't have any clothes. <em>Yeah right, his clothes were probably still in boxes. Jadeite and I told him to come with us in the morning to set up but instead he stayed in the library talking to some girl he had just met. <em>

"Hi Mamoru! How are you?" Noa, his old high-school friend came and sat down next to him. She already had a drink in her hand and her forehead was a bit sweaty from, Mamoru guessed, dancing.

"I'm fine!" Mamoru yelled over the music while smiling at his host.

"Where are your friends?" Noa peered around his shoulder as if to see whether he was hiding his four burly friends behind him.

"Nephrite's on his way but the rest had to stay at home." Mamoru's voice was getting scratchy from the too much yelling. He looked around for a waitress to bring him a drink.

"Hey, are you ok? You looking to see if he's here?"

"No, I was just wondering where the waiters are, I need a drink." Noa tutted when she couldn't find a waiter in sight.

"This is so typical. Daddy shells out so much money for this place and the service isn't even…"As if on cue a waiter appeared in front of them, a huge smile on her face.

"Hello, can I interest you in a…" The waitress stopped short when she saw who she was addressing. Before she could scuttle away, after all the first meeting shouldn't happen like this, the object of her silence saw her. He blinked once and then twice to make sure that it wasn't some sort of apparition in front of him. When he opened his eyes the third time, the waitress was still there, her genuine smile had changed to a strained, almost scary, grin. She was still as beautiful as she was two years ago and as beautiful as she would be in the future. Even in her costume she oozed poise and charm. Mamoru eyed her from top to bottom, and frowned; she was dressed in black ballet shoes with a ribbon twisted around her calves, a short hooped mini skirt made from material that seemed to resemble plastic with a hula-hoop-type thing attached at a ninety-degree angle from the right side of her waist to the bottom left side of the hem of her skirt (as if to resemble a planet Saturn ring around her) and a cropped top so short and tight fitting that it left little to the imagination. On her head she wore her signature "odango" hairstyle with a hairband that had two springs sticking out of it that looked to be the antennas which completed her sexy alien outfit. Mamoru frowned – why would Usagi dress up like that, or rather, why did Noa make the waiters dress up like that.

"Yes, hi, we'd like two drinks please." Usagi held the tray flat against her stomach, she could almost feel Mamoru's stare on her bare skin even though she was looking directly at her host.

"Um…what drinks would you like?" Nao turned to her friend and Mamoru turned his gaze away from Usagi just in time.

"Er…just water for me thanks." Nao frowned at him.

"Come on Mamoru, you should let loose once in a while. Saori tells me how much you study and you really need some time off." Usagi's eyes widened at the mention of a past acquaintance – _so Mamoru still keeps in touch with Saori huh? _She didn't really feel resentment towards the girl but Usagi knew the girl's feelings were pretty strong for her ex-boyfriend.

"I'll have a whisky, on the rocks?" Nao turned to look at Usagi, a patronising look in her eyes.

"That's a whisky with ice cubes." Usagi gritted her teeth and clenched the tray tighter than was necessary –_ I know you moron, I bartend for a living!_

"Would you rather have ice whisky stones? They don't melt in your drink and water it down." Mamoru grinned – _So she remembers how I like my drink_. Nao looked at Mamoru waiting for his answer.

"Yes please." Nao nodded, as if satisfied with his answer, and turned to Usagi.

"I'll have a cosmopolitan. The bartender daddy hired should know how to make it just perfect." Usagi gritted her teeth once more but didn't say anything. She could make a mean cosmopolitan, in fact, she made many cocktails better than professional bartenders, her friends could vouch for her. When she turned away she caught Nao's words to Mamoru, her nasal voice carrying over the loud music.

"Honestly, I don't know why they let people like her work here. Her hairstyle is all wrong for my party, and just plain childish! I should have checked them before they were allowed to represent themselves to the guests. I mean, what do you expect from young, inexperienced waitresses like her?" Nao flicked her hair and turned her attention back to the man next to her with a big smile on her face. "Where were we?" Mamoru tried not to show his anger toward his host and instead drew her into a conversation about her current studies, a conversation that was quite tedious but it kept her away from pestering the waiters.

Usagi came back for drinks, Mamoru noticed, a while later, by that time which Nephrite had joined them.

"Hello, your drinks!" Usagi noticed the blatant rejection she got from her host, but it didn't bother her…much. She laid the drinks out on the table, with a coaster underneath as per their host's instructions the day before during their "orientation". She held the tray flat against her belly again before turning to the newcomer.

"Would you like something to drink?" Usagi's smile faltered when she saw who it was – Nephrite, thankfully, was too busy noticing Nao's beauty to see that his neighbour was their server.

"Beer, the imported stuff." Usagi smiled and, as she turned to leave, was stopped by Mamoru touching her hand.

"Thanks." He raised the whisky high in her honour, and, as if it were some secret between the two of them, took a small sip, his eyes never leaving hers. Again, as fortune would have it, the other two were too engrossed in their conversation to notice the little exchange.

* * *

><p>Usagi walked back to the bar and threw her tray on the counter.<p>

"I swear, if another girl asks me for a cosmopolitan by the 'famous bartender'," here Usagi put on a high-pitched, voice to mimic their host's friends, "I'm going to kill myself!" She walked behind the bar and picked up the drinks necessary to make the cocktail. The famous bartender their host had hired bailed on the club last minute and threatened the manager with bad publicity if they told the host of his disappearance. Thankfully his replacement, Usagi, was just as good at making drinks – this was due to the number of girl's nights she had with the girls (although they tended not to tell people of their special nights due to alcohol being illegal for anyone under 20 in Tokyo).

"Come on Usagi, please?" The manager begged her. Thankfully, he was a good manager or else Usagi would have refused flat out to waitress and make the drinks.

"Three cosmopolitans coming right up!" Usagi started mixing the drinks as her fellow bartender came up to the counter.

"Heya Usa, two more please. And a martini." Usage scowled at her friend.

"This is insane! I swear, people drink too much." Both girls giggled while Asami joined her friend behind the counter to help out.

"What can I say? Everyone is raving about your cocktails." Asami winked as Usagi speared an olive with a little too much force. "Two olives with that." Usagi turned her head to give her friend a glare. Asami just laughed.

"Sucks to be the only waitress in a BAR that can actually bartend!"

"Hey. Listen, I'll trade you a couple of shifts as a thanks, how does that sound?"

"I would love the extra time Asami, but I really need the money." Asami looked at her.

"Usa, I meant I would do it unpaid." Usagi stared at her friend.

"You really mean that?" Asami gave her friend a brief hug before placing the drinks she had just made on her tray.

"Usa, you covered for me SO much when I had my problems with Yukio, and today you're covering all our butts, you deserve this."

"Thanks Asami, you're a true friend!" Usagi grinned as she followed her friend to other side of the bar.

"I promise I'll tell them to order drinks straight from the bottle and no cocktails. Unless they're REALLY hunky!" The girls giggled again before moving to their respective serving areas.

"Your drink." Usagi placed the drink in front of her new neighbour and went to leave before he caught a glimpse of her. However, she wasn't that fast since the boy had looked up to thank the girl.

"Hey, tha…" He trailed off as he stared at her. "You look familiar…" He squinted at her before snapping his fingers. "You're the new neighbour! I would recognise that hairstyle ANYWHERE!" His eyes lingered a bit too much on her exposed stomach while Mamoru turned away from his conversation with Nao to look at his friend. _Usako is our new neighbour? What? Nephrite better not have forgotten to put in his contacts! I can see him squinting._

"Hi there neighbour. Nephrite, right?" Usagi smiled as Nephrite stood up to shake her hand.

"Yeah! And you're…" He realised she hadn't actually introduced herself to him, or she probably had but he was too busy staring at her friend.

"Usagi." Usagi smiled as she shook his hand; _so he was staring at Mako! Wait till I tell Mina! We're going to have a BLAST playing cupid! _She inwardly squealed while keeping a cool demeanour on the outside.

"This is our friend, the one Zoicite was telling you about." Nephrite realised he had forgotten to introduce Endymion to her. "His name is Endy…Mamoru." Nephrite nearly slipped up on his friend's official name. At home he was Endymion, as a sign of respect – even though they were friends, he and his brothers still held him in high respect – or Dymi.

"Oh a-actually, we've met." Usagi smiled at both of them and tried to ignore the scathing look the host was giving her. "Actually, I've got to run right now, work you see, but I'll catch you later." Before they could protest, Usagi had disappeared amongst the throng of people who had come to wish Nao a happy birthday.

* * *

><p>When Usagi finally went home she opened the door expecting to find the living room empty and dark which was why when she saw Rei curled up on the couch with the light on, cup of tea on the table next to her and a book in her hand, she was shocked.<p>

"Rei, what are you doing up so late?" Rei smiled at her best friend who looked so tired, but refrained from saying anything.

"Stupid people at the gallery broke a showcase and I had to go sort it all out, you?" Usagi plopped herself on the couch, not bothering to take off her coat or scarf. Rei leaned over and took a sniff of her jacket. "You owe me a dry cleaner's bill, my jacket smells of smoke!" Usagi's eyes welled up but she blinked the tears away.

"Rei, I can't afford that." Rei's eyes widened.

"Come on Usagi, you got paid a fortune today, plus the tip she promised." Usagi's body shook but she calmed herself down before explaining to Rei that she was the only one who didn't get a tip because her work ethic didn't reflect the club's image.

"What the hell does she know about the club's image? She only chose our club because our DJ was the only one willing to play her stupid music, which by the way, was CRAP! Whoever thought trance was the music of the future?" Rei huddled close to her friend and put an arm around her.

"Usagi, I was only joking about the dry-cleaner's bill. I mean, my jacket does smell, but I'm not going to make you pay for it." Usagi smiled at her friend.

"Rei, I'm still going to pay for it, I'll just have to pay you back in instalments."

"Are your finances really that bad?" Usagi nodded glumly.

"It's just, school books were SO expensive and I really want to do well. I don't know everything like Ami does, nor do I have your smartness, or Mako's insane talent at something or Mina's drive…I have to study, hard, to get barely passing grades." Despite Usagi's glum look, her friend grinned at her.

"Usagi, how can you think so little of yourself? Ami is smart, yes, but she has an innate ability to just soak up everything she reads…and she reads A LOT! Mako is talented at cooking but you have a talent of making people love you and making them feel better, that's a really awesome talent. As for your intelligence? We're all smart Usagi, and yes I include myself in this, but we all have to study, well except Ami, to get to where we are. If you studied as much as I did, or even as much as Mina did, you would be getting much better grades. I'm lucky because I get to work in the field I'm studying, you don't get to practice what you read. And lastly, you don't think you have Mina's drive? Usagi, you're the most driven out of all of us! You are doing EVERYTHING you can to be the Queen we're all expecting you to be. Yes, we have high expectations of you, but it's only because we know about your capabilities. Every day you're driven to be the best person you can be, and that takes a lot of energy. You work and you go to school and you make time for your friends, and on occasion, you date!" Usagi giggled at the end of Rei's rant. "Come on Usagi, we'll help you. I have some money left over from my first pay check and grandpa did send me my monthly stipend from the temple."

"Rei, my finances aren't that bad. I can still pay my share of the rent and the utility bills, I just can't afford those new manga books I wanted." Rei jumped away from her friend and looked at her with a look of horror.

"You're upset because you can't afford new manga books!?" Usagi turned to check that Rei's rise in volume didn't wake up their roommates.

"Keep it down Rei!" She whispered urgently.

"Usagi! Seriously? You got all upset because…" Usagi couldn't take it anymore. She had to tell Rei, after all, it come out much sooner than later.

"Rei, I saw him." She cut her friend off mid-rant. Rei looked at her, confused.

"Saw who…?" Before she could finish it came to her – of course, who else could have Usagi in such a tizzy?

"Mamoru." Usagi nodded.

"And the worst part is this… he's our new neighbour!" Rei's eyes were ready to pop out from her shock.

"He's living with those two guys that came over?" Usagi nodded again.

"Oh my girl!" Rei leaned in again and gave her a tight hug. "Do you want some coco?" Usagi shook her head. "Do you want to take a nice, long, hot shower and then you can sleep with me. Do you want that?" Usagi nodded slowly and she followed Rei to the bathroom. The raven-haired girl drew a bath for her best friend and when it was half full she did one of her Sailor Mars tricks and heated the water to the perfect temperature – a trick she had perfected after performing it many times over the years. She threw in some bath salts from her private collection and let her friend soak in the bathtub and collect her thoughts.

That night as Usagi snuggled in Rei's magnolia smelling sheets she muttered a sleepy thanks to her best friend. Rei smiled knowing that she would regret her choice in the morning when Usagi would spread out all over her bed. Thankfully it was a big double bed and she wouldn't be starved of space that much.

"Night Moon Princess." She turned to see her friend who was bathed in a whisp of moonlight that shone through a crack in the curtains. She certainly was beautiful, Rei had to admit, more beautiful than any of the girls, and they all knew it. But they never held it against her, how all the guys would stare at her before redirecting the attention to the rest of the girls. It wasn't just that Usagi was pretty, but she also exuded so much confidence and held herself in such a regal way that it was bound to attract most of the guys.

Tomorrow she and Usagi would have to convince the girls of another "girl's night". It was long overdue and they all needed to vent about various on goings in their lives.

* * *

><p>AN 2: Ok longer author's notes go on at the end. I LOVE this story for some reason and it just came to me to write more so I got really excited! I am loving the positive feedback I'm getting so thanks!

**Moonprincess998 **thanks! Hope I updated fast enough :)) but it probably won't always be this fast because I have two other stories and my first story takes precedence.

**Isis Aurora Tamoe **wahey! We have 'aurora' in our names! Woot woot :)) hope this satiates your need for more

**Guest **aww you make me blush! I hope it turns out amazing too! But when I have reviewers such as you! ;p Jadeite's age has been stated (can't believe I forgot him – he's my favourite!).

**Guest **Thanks! Hope this was what you expected and more.

**Kai2 **sadly their first meeting has already happened :)) HOWEVER! I was seriously thinking about him borrowing a cup of sugar from them before you even reviewed! Great minds think alike!

**Questions: **I just would love to hear what you guys think and have these questions answered if you want to ;))

1) Out of all the guys, who's your favourite so far?

2) Which couple are you looking forward to reading most about?

3) What do you think of the friendship dynamics (the girls' relationship and the guys')

To everyone who /favourited/alerted/followed – THANK YOU!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – The Meetings

Mina was going to be so late – she was going to yell at Artemis so much since he was the one who was supposed to wake her up. _I'm going to miss this audition which I really want to go to. _She got up and dressed as fast as she could. She heard someone scurrying around in the kitchen; _Makoto is probably up making breakfast and I'm going to miss it!_ She nearly cried at the thought of missing one of Makoto's breakfasts but instead chose to run into the kitchen and fit as much as she could into her mouth.

"Morning Mina, late again?" The blonde beauty shot her one of her famous death glares while the tall girl just grinned.

"I packed your breakfast when I saw that you were late."

"Why didn't you wake me up?! Artemis was meant to but he's off playing ally-cat with Luna."

"First of all, ew, I don't need to know the intimate details of Artemis and Luna's role-playing games. Second of all I didn't even notice you were late until I glanced at the calendar and saw that you have an audition in twenty-five minutes." Mina glanced at the calendar near the door which was custom made by Usagi's mother when the five girls went off to university. Each week was divided into five by seven squares with each girl's names written on the left hand side; each girl filled in what they had going on that week so that their flatmates were aware. The girls stuck to that calendar religiously after they had a scare with one of Usagi's night shifts; neither of the girls knew she was working that night, Usagi claimed she had told them but it was impossible since one of her friends would have remembered, and the girls were up all night wondering whether to call the police or not.

"Mako, I love you so much!" Mina kissed her friend's cheek as a lunch box was pushed into her hands.

"Good luck Mina, I'm sure you'll do great!" Mina nodded and went to the coffee machine and poured a generous amount into a travel mug. She saw her friend eyeing her jumper warily. "New jumper? Doesn't seem like something you would wear." The blonde girl looked away but not before her friend saw the look of regret in her eyes.

"It's from this guy I met last week." She frowned – something was going on with her friend, and the guy whose jumper she was wearing. Mina never regretted a night of casual sex. Makoto wanted to press on but couldn't since her friend took a look at the clock on the wall and let out an anguished howl.

"Bye Mako… Thanks for breakfast!" Mina stole an apple from the fruit bowl before waving at her friend and running out the kitchen. She didn't know whether Makoto had realised the change in her demeanour but if she did then there was no escape from that girl's clutches. Her friend was relentless when it came to wanting to know things. She sighed as she opened her front door and ran towards the elevator. She clicked the button impatiently – she knew she should have taken the stairs but she wanted to avoid the people on the first floor; one of the guys had taken to waiting in the staircase every morning and every night, usually the time she came home from work, to ask her out. While Mina was no stranger to dating, she didn't want to go out with anyone in the building in case there was any tension and/or embarrassing situations. She snorted as she saw the irony in her words – this was pretty much what she had wanted to avoid and she hadn't even dated him!

The elevator was slow so Mina punched the button again and again with less patience every time.

"Pushing the button more times and that hard isn't going to make it come faster." Mina tutted and turned around to reply to the gruff voice which had spoken. What she saw made her stop in her tracks – the voice belonged to a tall man with shaggy blonde hair and grey eyes. She saw a flash of recognition in his eyes; _So he remembers me!_ Mina went to speak but all she could do was squeak. There was no way she could speak to this man so instead of saying anything she ran toward the staircase and decided that an awkward encounter with the boy on the first floor would be better than this. The man just stared after her, still waiting for the elevator to arrive thinking; _Who is that girl? Where do I know her from? And why is she wearing my sweater? _He heard a female voice greet him as the doors of the elevator opened.

"Kunzite!" The girl had an annoyingly loud pitch. Kunzite turned to see his neighbour from the fourth floor looking at him with a big, bright smile on her face – his face remained stoic, barring any emotion that his pretty face could show.

"Mara." His voice was curt – he wasn't generally a man of many words and he wasn't about to waste his breath on his annoying neighbour. He entered the small space and stood next to her.

"Hi Kunzite, I was just wondering whether you wanted this blueberry pie I baked." Kunzite turned to look at her and drew his gaze from her eyes to the pie and then back to her eyes. He didn't say anything, he just stared at her with such intensity that when she spoke again there was an obvious tremor in her voice. "It w-was j-j-just to w-w-welcome y-you t-to the b-b-building." Kunzite raised an eyebrow and a hint of a smile was seen on his face.

"Thank you, but I cannot accept this." The elevator had reached the ground floor and the doors opened. Before Mara could argue with the man, he had exited the elevator and walked towards the door – before he opened the glass doors to the outside he made sure his shaggy blonde hair was under his beanie and that he was well protected against the cold. Mara stood in the elevator, still holding the blueberry pie, sighing as she watched the man leave the building. He held himself with such composure, as if he were some noble from the Far East. Mara sighed once more before the doors of the elevator closed and she stood a while just staring at the closed doors thinking of the blonde man before pushing the button to her floor. She looked down at the pie that she still held in her arms and grinned – perhaps she would invite Kunzite over so that they could eat it together and drink coffee – this way he wouldn't have to accept the pie, just her invitation.

* * *

><p>In the apartment opposite the girls a black haired boy woke up with a start, he had had a nightmare again.<p>

_"Darien…we need to talk." Darien felt his heart clench almost as if he could prophesise what was about to come. Usagi wasn't looking at him directly in the eyes and her usual bubbly demeanour was rigid and bleak. Her usual smile was turned into a frown and she couldn't stop twiddling her hands. Mamoru took all of this in and sighed – Usagi, his Usako, had changed so much since they met three years ago. She was fourteen then and had just become Sailor Moon; he was starting to remember his past as Prince Endymion and they were both thrown together into an intricate and inexplicable past. A year later they were met with more trials, not as Usagi and Mamoru but as future Queen Neo-Serenity and Prince Endymion of Crystal Tokyo. Their child, Chibiusa, had come from the future bringing with her peril and a new fight. After they had defeated the future threat and saved the past, a new threat arose; it was a miracle Usagi had survived and she had to do it all on her own since he had left her to go study at Harvard._

_Now he was back and she had changed – she had grown more beautiful, if it were possible, and her eyes held a wealth of wisdom in them he hadn't seen in anyone ever before. He had gone to university with the smartest people from all over the world yet Usagi had something that they didn't – she held the future of the world in her hands and a type of smart that no one else's could rival. _

_"Usagi, I think I know what you're going to say, but…don't." Mamoru muttered as he leaned in to give her a soft kiss, as if silencing her in some way would make her forget what she wanted to say. His heart broke into a million pieces when she turned; he saw a single tear fall down her cheek but he didn't move to wipe it away._

_"Mamoru, I have to talk to you… we…" He could hear her voice faltering. She didn't want to do it, so why was she forcing herself?_

_"Tell me what I did wrong, tell me so I can fix it." He wasn't even embarrassed about the evident pleading in his voice. Perhaps he shouldn't have left her alone here to go pursue his studies._

_"Mamoru, listen to me." Her voice was stronger, more composed. She had straightened her slump shoulders and stopped twiddling her thumbs; she had composed herself as any future Queen would when faced with adversity. "I want to be on my own for a while. Chibiusa coming from the future was a big shock and at first… I was happy knowing that we would last that long. I knew my feelings for you would never change and I was so glad that it could last a whole lifetime. What we feel for each other…now… I can't tell whether it's being influenced by what we know from the future. I think I love you, but I'm not sure." Mamoru felt a pang in his chest almost as if her words were arrows piercing his heart._

_"You think I love you because our future child told us that we would end up together?" For some reason Usagi gave a small smile._

_"Mamoru, I don't doubt your love for me now, I just want to make sure."_

_"I don't understand what you're trying to say."_

_"Mamoru, we're meant to live a whole forever with each other, that's a long time. We have a child from the future who is 900 years old…"_

_"Usagi…what are you trying to say?"_

_"I need some space. I want to break up." She had said it. Mamoru look away – he could see a family eating on the grass and the child, who was about six years old, held her hands up trying to get her father's sandwich. The father grinned and toyed with his daughter before giving in to her and letting her take a bite out of his lunch. Mamoru smiled – that could have been him and Chibiusa; Usagi would be the mother who would be looking at them lovingly with her arm around his waist._

_"Why don't I give you some time to think about it and then we'll meet up again…"Usagi shook her head._

_"I'm going away with the girls for a year. I can't tell you where, scout secret. But I've been doing a lot of thinking and I know that this is the right course of action." Gone was the cry-baby who failed her tests and screamed bloody murder when faced with a youma who couldn't be defeated – in front of him was a girl who had seen and felt death, who had the fate of the world resting heavily on her shoulders, who had been through so much she had changed completely; she had graduated school with really good grades and had an offer from one of the best universities in the country. She used to be his but now… he wasn't sure about now but he knew that in the future she would be his again, no matter what._

_"Usagi, you and I will end up together, we've seen it." _

_"Mamoru, I've seen the future and I want it to happen so badly, but the future is always changing, it depends on what we put into motion." She sighed. "I want that daughter who was brave enough to cross time and space to try and save us in the future – I want the future we saw together but right now, all I want to do, is be a normal girl. I don't want to be together with you because we've seen it, I want to be in love with you, I want to feel that every moment without you is torture, I want to think that a lifetime without you would be pure agony… I want to love you like I could never imagine loving anyone in my whole life."_

_"But you could feel all of those things if you gave us a chance." _

_"How can I give us a chance when there is doubt in my heart? Mamoru, I am Sailor Moon, guardian of the Moon and justice, I have fought every day for the past three years against all the evil that came on this planet – I need to be alone to find myself."_

_"I can help you find yourself. I can be there…with you…every step of the way, like I've always been." _

_"No Mamoru, I have to stop depending on you. I have to learn to be independent and learn to live before taking on my duty as Neo-Queen Serenity."_

_"But…" Before he could finish Usagi stood up and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead._

_"Bye Mamoru. If this is really meant to be then we will find each other again. When we do we can decide then whether we were really meant to be." She turned away and walked away until she became a black dot against the sunset. Mamoru sat on that bench until late at night – he couldn't even tell her that he had found his Shittenou who knew nothing of their past actions. He couldn't tell her that he was coming back to Tokyo and was planning to go into a PhD research programme after graduating next year. He wanted her there and she wasn't going to be._

_The image blurred and the scene changed to a dark dingy club where his beautiful ex-girlfriend was standing in front of him dressed as a very weird looking alien. _

He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he thought about the nightmare he had – a nightmare he had had many times in the past. . He groaned and covered his face with his hand – Usagi, his Usagi, was living right next door to them. Before he had time to register anything else his door flung open. Before he could think any more his door flung open and a very dishevelled looking Nephrite barged in.

"Mamoru, I need help. Jadeite has his door locked and I need to get a book of his." Mamoru looked at his friend, his expression clearly read 'please elaborate'. Nephrite sighed. "I'm in love with the girl next door. I can't stop thinking about her – I even tried to get my mind off of her by talking to your friend Nao, but…futile attempts." His friend had made his way to the foot of the bed and sat down, shoulders slumped over in defeat.

"Ok…so what do you want from Jadeite's room?" Mamoru wondered whether Usagi's flatmates, his new neighbours, were the other Sailor Senshi and then wondered which one of the five beauties had capture his friend's attention.

"He has a book on how to woo the ladies." Mamoru couldn't help but laugh.

"Surely you don't need that kind of help. Your experience speaks for itself." He thought back to all the times Nephrite had brought a girl home. "Hold on… why does Jadeite have a book on how to woo the ladies, as you so eloquently put it. He is the one out of all of us who doesn't need it." Whether it was his friend's mixed race look, or the fact that he grew up in Europe where people were less reserved than in Japan, Mamoru knew that his blonde friend didn't need any help in picking up women.

"I got for him as a joke last Christmas. The thing is, that book had some really helpful tips!" Mamoru looked at his friend strangely.

"Nephrite, you definitely do not any help from some stupid book." Mamoru said as he rubbed sleep from his left eye. He inwardly groaned as it was too early in the morning to have this conversation with his friend.

"But…" Mamoru cut him off.

"Why are you up so early anyway?" Nephrite shot him a dirty look.

"I haven't slept all night. I swear, that girl is a witch and she's beguiled me!" Mamoru smirked.

"Beguiled… big words for someone like you." Nephrite grinned until he fully grasped what Mamoru was saying.

"Hey! I read…on occasion." He stuck his tongue out at his friend and then ran to the door. "I heard his door open! Be right back!" Mamoru groaned and fell back onto the bed. He contemplated locking the door but then thought of his friend who was apparently so much in love he was risking his brother's morning wrath. Mamoru shot up when he heard some yells and quickly rushed out of bed to see what was happening.

"I AM SO SORRY!" He heard Nephrite yell and saw the boy come out of the door, eyes closed, bumping into the wall in the process.

"GET OUT YOU PERV!" Mamoru grinned – it seemed that Jadeite had a girl over and Nephrite had barged in on them during a very intimate moment.

"Mamoru I thought that she would have left! Jadeite never lets the girls sleep over!" Mamoru grinned and beckoned his friend to follow him into the kitchen where he poured them a generous amount of coffee in jumbo sized mugs.

"That coffee machine pays for itself." Mamoru sighed as he inhaled the fragrance of the drink he loved so much. Nephrite grimaced as he took a sip of the black stuff and took his cup to the cupboard where he put in powdered milk and three big spoonfulls of sugar.

"How do you drink this stuff? It's disgusting." Mamoru laughed.

"Ah my friend, you have not had to pull two all-nighters in a row have you?" Nephrite shook his head. "This stuff is what gets you through it." Mamoru pointed at his mug before picking it up and taking a huge gulp.

"Morning!" Zoicite was already up and dressed, carrying a book and holding a cup of coffee.

"Morning brother. How are you?"

"Good. I was up all night studying." Mamoru grinned at him.

"I heard the TV on in your bedroom. You were watching "When Harry Met Sally" weren't you?" His brother laughed at him while his friend grinned over his cup of coffee.

"What? It's a really good film." His voice got high and squeaky as he rushed to defend himself. Nephrite walked over to his brother and slung an arm over his shoulder.

"I really should introduce you to some manly films like "Die Hard" and any Old West films." His brother shot him a dirty look and shrugged his arm off his shoulder.

"I don't need to be introduced to those films – I've seen them and violence does not a good film make." Zoicite put his mug on the counter and turned to pick up his rucksack which was lying on the counter.

"Zoicite, you can't leave your stuff on the kitchen counters, it's unsanitary." His friend scolded. Zoicite chose to ignore him and his brother who was currently peering into the contents of his coffee.

"Hey, where did you get this coffee and why does it smell so good." Zoice sauntered over to his brother and daintily picked up his cup shooting his brother a dirty look.

"It's my private stash." Mamoru looked at him strangely.

"You have a private stash of coffee that I have never heard about? How come?" Zoicite debated whether to tell him that his friend had an unhealthy addiction to coffee and that any time someone brought coffee home, he would end up drinking most of it. He decided to tell his friend this and added,

"Also, this coffee is really good and I have to walk all the way into town to get it from this special shop. It's strong and smells and tastes like caramel." His brother's eyes shot way up.

"Caramel coffee? Give me, I want to try!" His brother reached out for the mug but Zoicite just grinned before bringing the mug to his lips and draining every last drop of the coffee.

"Sorry brother. Anyway, catch you later, I have to go to the library." As he left he yelled over his shoulder. "Don't wait up for me! I have tap lessons after this!" Nephrite looked at his friend in horror at his brother's words.

"Since when does my brother tap dance?" Mamoru looked up at him.

"If you took the time to actually listen to what your brother says instead of staring at girls all the time, and wondering how to get them, you would probably learn a lot of things about him." Nephrite sat down next to his friend and vowed that he would pay attention to his brother next time he spoke. However, even as he thought this, his mind wandered to their cute neighbour next door and wondering what she was doing this very minute.

* * *

><p>Makoto was in fact cooking breakfast for Usagi who had just woken up.<p>

"Morning Mako!" Usagi yawned as she made a beeline for the coffee. Makoto was surprised as she hadn't expected her friend to be up so early.

"Didn't you have a late night last night?" She brandished the spatula at her friend before turning back to the pancakes. Usagi sat at the counter and put her head into her hands before groaning from lack of sleep.

"I did. I came home SO late and I forgot that I had a meeting with my supervisor!" Usagi yawned again and forced herself to sit upright since Makoto was kind enough to serve the pancakes in a plate and bring it over to her. Her eyes widened at the stack of pancakes in front of her topped with maple syrup, whipped cream and fresh fruit – the whole décor looked like it was made by a professional. She shot her friend a grin before cutting a large piece of the first pancake and stuffing her face. Makoto turned away as her friend's eating habits had a tendency to churn her stomach in all the wrong ways. Usagi's grunts and constant chewing was an indication that she was enjoying her breakfast very much.

"Do you know what time Rei came back?" Makoto took the opportunity to ask her friend as she took a sip of her coffee – her mouth was empty and could therefore talk.

"Oh, she was home and when I came back and we went to bed together." Usagi's thoughts turned to the sleeping girl she left in the bed. When her alarm went off she quickly turned it off and turned to see the girl next to her stirring. Usagi reassured the sleeping girl that everything was ok and that she had plenty of time to get up since she didn't have any classes that day. Rei mumbled something incoherent, turned to the other side and went back to sleep. "She must have been exhausted since she didn't wake up when I woke up, and you know what a light sleeper she is. My alarm can wake up a dead army." Usagi grinned as she thought of her alarm tone which played a very upbeat pop song Mina and her had sung for karaoke one year. Her friend turned to look at her, eyebrow furrowed.

"Why would your alarm wake up Rei?" She sounded confused and Usagi suddenly remembered that the other girls didn't know who was living next door to them. She ate another piece of pancake and swallowed before explaining to her friend last night's events and all about seeing Mamoru again. Makoto sighed when she finished retelling the story she had told Rei, and added the extra part of her talk with Rei and sleeping in Rei's bed.

"Usagi…" Her friend's voice trailed off. She honestly didn't know what to tell her except that they would be there for her in case she needed anything.

"Thanks Mako, I know you're going to be there for me." Usagi scraped up the last piece of her pancake and wiped the plate clean of any cream or maple syrup before placing it into her mouth. The blonde girl glanced at her watch and screamed, spraying bits of pancake all over the counter. Makoto turned around in surprise. She heard her friend yelling something through the mouthful of pancake in her mouth – years of experience had made her (and the rest of the girls) expert at Usagi's second mother tongue (Japanese through a mouthful of food) and understood "I'M LATE! I'M SO LATE! I HAVE TO GO! THANKS MAKO FOR THE FOOD!" She understood right as Usagi picked up her briefcase from the floor and ran out the door still yelling unintelligible things in her wake. Makoto just grinned as she wiped up the sprayed piece of food on the counter.

The next person who came into the kitchen was Ami who was staring over her shoulder looking confused.

"Is Usagi late again?" She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip. "At least she thanked you for breakfast." Makoto grinned as she passed over a tray of museli and cut up fresh fruit to her friend.

"Yeah, she has a meeting with her advisor." Ami took the tray, thanked her friend and sat at the counter. She picked up a stray book which belonged to one of her friends and read the blurb.

"I thought she came back late last night. I was up finishing my essays for next week and I heard her talking with Rei." She put the book down and made a mental note to read it after she was done with her extra credit essays.

"She saw Mamoru." Ami froze, leaving the spoon mid-air. She turned to look at her tall friend who was busy cleaning Usagi's plate.

"Don't tell me…" She breathed and Makoto nodded her head as if she had read her mind.

"He's our neighbour and he was also at the party last night." Ami ate her muesli and thought about the turn of events.

"Poor Usagi, we'll have to make sure to tell her that we'll be there for her no matter what."

"I already did. I suggest that we have a girl's night the day after tomorrow." Ami looked crestfallen.

"Oh no, I can't. I have to study!" Makoto looked at her suspiciously.

"What do you have to do? You've already done your extra credit essays and all your essays for the end of the semester. Mercury, are you…" Ami flushed with embarrassment – Makoto always used her Senshi name when she accused her of studying too much, "taking more extra credits?" Ami flushed and continued eating her muesli and fresh fruit with a gusto very much unlike her. "Ami! You have to stop or else you're going to over-work yourself!" Ami speared the last of the fruit from her plate and popped it into her mouth. She just smiled at Makoto as she brought her tray of dirty dishes over.

"Makoto, I have to keep busy or else I am going to go crazy!" She pushed her friend gently out of the way as she cleaned her dishes – Makoto thought she had to be everyone's personal cleaner but Ami always thought it was selfish to constantly rely on her to keep the house clean.

"Fine, whatever. But I'm guessing it's due at the end of the semester so you can probably take a night off and have some fun." Ami blushed again. Makoto's eyes widened as she read her friend's mind again, "Ami! It's due next semester?"

"Stop that! How do you do that?" Makoto grinned.

"We've been best friends for, how many years now? And you still ask that question. We've fought youmas and I've had to anticipate your every move, we all have, we're bound to have some psychic powers!" Ami giggled at her friend's exuberance.

"Ok, I will try and come to the girl's night." Makoto groaned.

"Ami! You are an integral part of girl's night! We have to grill you about the new neighbour." Ami flushed red again. She hated that she could blush this much but she couldn't help it.

"Ok Mako, I will come. But no talking about the new neighbour since nothing is going on." Makoto grinned at her friend.

"Yeah right. I bet that if you two don't kiss before Christmas I will personally make the girls stop pestering you about clubbing. However, if he does kiss you, then you have to promise to come clubbing with us once a month." Makoto peered at her friend's flushed face.

"Mako, I cannot promise you anything. I do not like taking bets like this." Makoto grinned.

"It's because I'm going to win, and you know it." Ami chose to ignore her friend and instead changed the subject.

"I'm going to the library now since their collection on fungal viruses is far more extensive than mine." Her friend grinned at her.

"You don't mind reading about fungal viruses and looking at pictures of them and yet when you have to look at me stuff a turkey, you whine." Ami grinned.

"Stuffing that turkey was disgusting. It smelled quite bad and you know I do not want to become a surgeon."

"Yeah, yeah," the tall girl brushed her off, "I know you want to become a paediatrician." Ami's eyes lit up at the thought of finally becoming a paediatrician. She spoke a bit more with Makoto about dinner plans and then bade her goodbye. Makoto took a look at the kitchen clock and sighed – Rei wouldn't be getting up any time soon since she had come late. Makoto, however, had to get to class since she wanted extra time to learn how to properly slice tomatoes julienne style quickly and effectively. She arranged Rei's breakfast on a tray and covered it up before going to her room to change.

* * *

><p>Ami closed the front door behind her and unknowingly walked into a tall figure.<p>

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She bowed her head in respect as she apologised. A chuckle brought her attention to the man in front of her.

"It's fine." His voice had a slight lilt to it and sounded almost melodious. His smile was genuine and showed off his perfectly straight teeth. His shoulder length hair was tied into a neat ponytail.

"Hello Zoicite." The boy's grin widened.

"You remembered my name…Ami." He winked at her as if they were both in on some joke. Ami flushed and moved away to start walking towards the staircase. Zoicite followed her keeping up with her fast pace. Ami tried hard not to flush but he smelled so good and he looked so handsome!

"So, where are you off to this fine morning?" Zoicite followed Ami down the stairs and waited patiently for her to answer.

"I want to go to the library to finish a paper I am writing on fungal viruses." Zoicite look at her impressed.

"Are you studying to be a doctor or do you just like writing papers that challenge you?" Ami giggled.

"No. I am studying to be a paediatrician but I enjoy studying the pathology of abnormal viruses." Ami found it surprisingly easy to talk to the person next to her. He was also walking toward the library and made an effort to talk to her about her work. As time went by she blushed less often and spoke more easily. She found out that he was a triple major, which was a feat for anyone, and enjoyed watching romantic comedies which his brothers and friend found really weird and constantly teased him about it. They parted ways when they arrived at the library – Zoicite made sure to exchange phone numbers in case they wanted to meet up for lunch; Ami blushed at the idea of having lunch with him but she managed to convince herself that she liked him just as a friend. In the meantime, the blonde boy was thinking that he had finally met his match; Ami was intelligent, perhaps even smarter than him, and fun to talk to. He enjoyed watching her blush and made a point to brush shoulders on more than one occasion which fuelled her redness. Zoicite grinned – he was going to like having her as neighbour. His thoughts turned to a conversation he had had with his brothers and Endymion the day before – she was definitely out of his league and, for some reason, he found the challenge refreshing. He wanted her and not like he wanted other girls – she was someone he could see him having a future with and it didn't scare him. He walked off toward his lecture grinning the whole way.

* * *

><p>Back at the apartment Makoto and Nephrite met in the hallway as they exited their respective apartments at the same time. Nephrite grinned at her while Makoto laughed.<p>

"Hey!" She smiled at him. Nephrite greeted her back and furiously tried to remember the book's instructions on how to greet a woman. He had leafed through it while Jadeite and Kai were having their breakfast, but for some reason he came up blank – it was as if he had forgotten everything he had read.

"Where are you off to?" The tall girl grinned at him as she waited for him to join her.

"I have to go to work. You?" Makoto opened the door to the staircase and let him through.

"I study at the chef school in the centre of Tokyo. Where do you work?"

"I work at the university – I'm a teacher's assistant and I also tutor some kids who are falling behind." Makoto was impressed – he was probably a really smart guy. "So you cook!" He grinned at her. "None of us in the house can cook and we survive off tinned food and lots and lots of pasta." He laughed at the girl's horrified look. Makoto couldn't imagine eating out of cans and eating plain pasta when she could be eating a shabu-shabu or a kaiseki-ryoric made from scratch.

"Wait, you mean to say that you guys don't cook any food." Nephrite sheepishly scratched the back of his neck and Makoto could see two red spots appearing on his cheeks.

"Not really. Zoicite tried to cook once but he forgot the food in the oven and burned it to a crisp. Mamoru swore that he made the best curry, he said he learned from the best, but it tasted like sludge (and I am saying the polite version of what it really tasted like). Kunzite wouldn't touch a stove even if his life depended on it – he and Mamoru used to live on take-out when they lived in Boston. And me… well I try to avoid anything that gets me stressed." He flashed her a smile that set her heart pounding five miles a minute.

"I can teach you! I'm a very good teacher."

"I'd like that." Nephrite offered to walk her to the bus stop but he hadn't anticipated how close the bus stop was to their apartment. He stayed for a while with her, talking about the different foods that she enjoyed cooking and what would be the best recipe to start him off with, until the bus came. She got on and thanked him for his company. He made sure to ask for her number and, when he saw the bus turn the corner, shot a fist up in triumph. He ignored the strange looks people around him gave him and continued walking to the university at a very fast pace considering how late he was.

* * *

><p>Usagi decided to go get a cup of coffee after her meeting with her supervisor went worse than she could ever imagine. Her supervisor had decided that Usagi was actually smart and asked her whether she would consider taking a more advanced political theory class. The future princess also showed an aptitude for the more practical classes. Her advisor gave her the option of completing some extra credit assignments that would look good on future job applications, as well as join a few societies at the university to embellish her CV. She shuffled in the line and eyed the cakes in the display case with a hint of drool dribbling from her open mouth. She spied her favourite chocolate cheesecake and decided to accompany that with a black coffee. She gave a wry smile at her choice of beverage; before she had met Mamoru, she had never drunk coffee in her life and the bitter taste was not appealing. However, after dating the caffeine addicted boy, she found a new found passion in caffeinated beverages and put her new discovery to good use – she drank coffee to moderate her sleepiness thus she was able to find more time to study and practice being a senshi.<p>

She gave her order to the cute barista at the till and just as she was about to pay, someone behind her thrust forward and put down a bill to cover the expenses and added,

"A black coffee too please." She scoffed and was about to give the stranger a piece of her mind when she saw who was standing directly behind her. Usagi stopped, mouth open but not moving, just staring at the man who had paid for her.

"Mamoru?" She breathed. The man gave her a faint smile and accepted his change from the confused barista – it wasn't often that people standing in line paid for the person in front of them. Judging by the girl's reaction, she knew the man and probably had a history. The barista shook his head and for some reason he felt that these two belonged together, that whatever issues they had should be resolved, sooner rather than later. He inwardly laughed at himself and his silly thoughts – he tended to over-romanticize his job as a barista and, due to sheer boredom, would wreak his over imagination on his poor customers. He swiftly put the order of the couple onto a tray and passed it over to them with a smile. They both thanked him but continued staring at each other. The boy had picked up the tray and walked to a table while the girl followed him in a daze, almost as if she had been enchanted. The barista grinned – it wouldn't be long before those two got together.

At the table Usagi and Mamoru had settled into the chairs and sat silently waiting for the other to make the first move. Usagi peered at Mamoru over her coffee cup and gave a small smile; he was still really good looking with his shaggy black hair, warm brown eyes that held a world of wisdom in them, and a body that was bulked in all the right places. Meanwhile Mamoru wasn't being at all discrete as he studied the beautiful girl before him; she had filled out in all the right places, had stopped growing when she hit 5 foot 2 and therefore still remained petite, her hair was still long and in her signature hairstyle and her eyes… they were windows to her beautiful, pure soul, and reflected the maturity she had accumulated while they had been apart. It hit a sore spot knowing that she had changed so much while they were apart – she had grown smarter, to get into her university she had to have done really well at the entrance exams, more mature, from what he could see; she had become a beautiful woman, blossoming into the future Neo-Queen Serenity and he wasn't there to witness it.

"Why did you break up with me?" Usagi choked as she stuffed the last of the chocolate cheesecake into her mouth. He waited impatiently as she chewed.

When she finally finished chewing, she replied: "Mamoru, I told you why we had to break up a really long time ago." Mamoru shook his head and frowned.

"That was a copout and you know it. You told me that we had to go our separate ways so that you could learn to be independent." Usagi sighed.

"I told you more." Mamoru could see her trying to remain calm – her hands were in fists and her knuckles where white.

"You said some bullshit about having to be apart before we're sure we want to be together and something about you not wanting to spend an eternity with someone without being completely sure. Usako, we both saw the future, we know what happens, why are you trying to fight it?" He could see tears welling up in her eyes and felt something tug at his heart but he chose to ignore it – he wasn't going to let her leave without an explanation.

"My name is Usagi, I didn't give you permission to call me by a nickname." She saw Mamoru's determined expression change to disappointment. "Also, I gave you an explanation about why I wanted to break up. You can't come a few years later and demand another explanation, or ask me to explain myself." She left before Mamoru could protest or grab her hand. He let out a frustrated growl and downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp. He left the coffee place angry and dejected not knowing which of the two made his stomach churn in turmoil. He decided to conference in his best friends when he got home – a boy's night out if you will, to discuss certain matters. Perhaps Nephrite would want to contribute to the issues. He made his way back to the apartment preparing himself for a long night of studying.

* * *

><p>Rei woke up feeling happy, for some reason. This was one of the rare moments where she could sleep in; how times had changed since she was at school where she would always get up on time and do her chores without grumbling. Perhaps she was influenced by her two best friends, Mina and Usagi, and saw the light in sleeping in on mornings like this. She stretched her arms high above her head before pulling the blankets off of her – she shuddered as she came into contact with the cold air around her. She put on her dressing gown, left it open, and walked to the kitchen hoping that her friends had not forgotten to set the coffee machine for her. Before she reached the kitchen, her doorbell rang; puzzled, she shuffled over to the door and peeped through the hole – there was a blonde, beautiful man with an equally beautiful girl standing next to him. Tentatively, Rei opened the door and greeted the couple in front of her.<p>

"Good morning. How can I help?" Rei inwardly cursed at her formality – some things never changed, her time at the temple had forced her to greet people in a polite and formal manner. She saw the man raise an eyebrow in amusement but didn't say anything so she turned to the girl.

"Hi, good morning. I was just wondering whether we could borrow some milk."

"Uh… yeah sure!" Rei invited them into the house and asked them to wait while she went into the kitchen to fetch the last of the milk making a mental note to put it on the grocery list.

"Thanks!" The girl said as Rei held out the milk. "We're from across the hall and Jadeite's brothers drank all the milk." The girl giggled and put an arm around his waist.

"I'm Rei Hino." The girl put out her hand expecting a handshake but received none from the man; meanwhile, Kai had introduced herself and shook Rei's hand with much fervour.

"I hope we get to see more of you." Kai smiled warmly at the raven-haired girl who managed a small smile in return – it was too early to be smiling like that and she didn't have any caffeine in her system. Rei bade them goodbye and sighed with relief when she closed the door. Her mind finally made the connection between the couple she had met yesterday in the hallway and the couple who had "borrowed" some milk.

"Who the hell _borrows _milk? How does she expect to return the same milk back to me?" She wondered out loud in an exasperated voice. Unbeknownst to her, Jadeite was still standing on the opposite side of her door while Kai was busy checking the mail box – he had heard everything and it took a lot of effort to supress a laugh.

Rei sauntered into the kitchen and poured herself a generous amount of coffee before spotting the tray her chef-friend had left her. Smiling against the rim of her cup she skipped to the tray and picked up the note her friend had left.

**Hey Rei,**

**You didn't wake up in time so I made you breakfast – French toast with fresh strawberries (picked by me this morning), porridge with cinnamon and I shall put in fresh coffee for you since we all drank it.**

**Ami and Mina are coming for dinner, text me if you're in or out. Usagi gave me a garbled reply – something about an essay she had to finish and a library but I don't believe that so I just think the maple syrup went to her head. **

**Ciao!**

**Mako**

Rei grinned as she uncovered the tray and sniffed the contents. Her stomach growled with hunger so she gave in and ate every single morsel her friend had prepared. As she ate she thought about the couple she had just met – they were both extremely beautiful and well suited for each other. She snorted as she thought about how their conversations went since the girls seemed too stupid to actually converse about substantial issues. She cleaned up her plates and groaned as she thought of the long day of studying ahead of her. This was going to be torture – the day was beautiful and she would have to stay inside all day going over some documents the gallery had sent her and then finally starting on her essay for university. The only things she could look forward to was the gallery opening tomorrow and the dinner Mako would be bringing tonight.

* * *

><p>AN:

To clarify, the Shittenou have memories of Crystal Tokyo but their respective lovers are in guardian form and they don't know their human forms. I probably should have clarified this beforehand. They don't want to live their life ruled by the future. Also, even if they get their memories from the past, they still won't know who their lovers are in human form. Does this make sense?

Also, I will pick and choose what I like from the anime and what I like from the manga (although bear in mind I haven't finished the manga).

**TropicalRemix: **The scouts and the shittenou broke up because they were reincarnated into their future selves and all that happened with the shittenou trying to kill the senshis. You get a insight into why Mamoru and Usagi broke up.

**Serenity 312: **Thanks! I am trying to put in a lot of Usagi and Mamoru interactions but N. Takeuchi wrote them so well and so cute together that I feel just AWFUL about having them broken up – not to fear, they will get back together!

**Aela: **You are free to read whatever you want and to feel whatever you want : ) As I have said before, I accept criticism and I shall respond to your review as best I can without making it seem like I'm angry (because I'm not) : )

Rei is studying and working at the same time – loads of people do that

I was under the impression, with doctor degrees, that after your first three years you do another three years (which is a PhD) in case you want to do research. Mamoru wants to research as well as become a surgeon so this is what he's doing now before doing his residency. Also, I screwed up the age of graduating since I was under the impression Japanese schools were like my home-country's schools were pupils usually graduate at the age of 17 – the senshis took a year off for reasons which will be explained later.

About their relationship/breakup – I made some typing errors in my hurry to get this chapter out, which I fixed (the name Saori too). What I wanted to convey in my story is that everyone grows up and their ideas change – I'm not the same person I was when I was 14/16/18… and I want the girls to be changed because of everything that they've been through. Rei's self-confidence has waned (again it will be explained), and Usagi is starting to have her doubts about ruling Crystal Tokyo (hence why she is doing a degree). It's something that I find happens to everyone. I will try and keep with the basics of their characters but it's hard to when you are writing them a few years older than when the manga ends.

I do hope you get to like the Shittenou later on because this is how I imagine them. They've been reincarnated and have no memories of what they did in the girl's timeline. They are brothers and the dialogue reflects who they are – the banter is just how I imagine normal brothers to be like.

I accept all your criticism and hope you continue reading my story – I really want to hear what you think about it whether it's good or a criticism. I appreciate you taking the TIME and the EFFORT to write such a long and detailed review outlining your concerns – after all we're all Sailor Moon fans and all have a right to read what we want ; )

**Maryyorke: **Hope you enjoyed this as much as the previous one!

**Sage McGavin: **I don't know if you're Kai2 who I mentioned in the previous chapter with the cup of sugar ; ) haha, I love all my reviewers and want to mention them by name cause this is how much you all mean to me! Hope you like this chapter too ; )

**Isis Aurora Tomoe: **I hope the way I write Makoto lives up to your expectations since she is your favourite! : )) I LOVE her too and if I were a senshi, it would probably be her cause she's so awesome!

**TaxPrincess: **Your excitement is awesome! I write Nephrite like a guy who is has a very exuberant personality and always excited about everything. I can't wait to write him together with Mako. Mina and Kunzite – aww I love their backstory in this cause I love how strikingly different their personalities are.

**A: **Ok, I don't know if you've ever seen "Pretty Little Liars" but your name made me laugh so much! And it wasn't even a threatening message (you understand what I mean if you've seen the show). Thanks though for the luck – I'm gonna need it! Usagi is an amazing bartender and Nao will be sorry she ever doubted her!

**Syluai: "**Interesting"… hm… is that good or bad? ; ) As you can see, one does not agree with the break-up as much as the other one. Tell me what you think!

**JasmineDragon 92:** I LOVE your enthusiasm! Kai will be sticking around for a while unfortunately – stupid Jadeite for thinking with his … than his head! How did you like Mina/Kunzite in this chapter?

;)) I'm so overwhelmed with all the reviews! And so glad to everyone who has favourite/followed! I am SO glad you like it! I love writing this story so much cause my imagination can run wild with 4 different relationships! I will be changing some characters and their personalities – poetic license and all – but I will try and change it in a believable way – kind of like stick to their original personality but imagine how they will grow.

Questions:

1) What do you think of the Usagi/Mamoru breakup? Does it make sense?

2) Mina/Kunzite… dumdumdumdum…. How is THAT going to pan out?

**AuroraFireMadness**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Girls' Night In, Boys' Night Out

"USAGI! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP?!" One blonde yelled to the other as she ran from room to room trying to find her shoes.

"MINA KJSHF SKJDHF SDJLKFSLKFJSLD SLKDFJSDLKJFSLKJF DLKSJFDSLKFJSD LKJFS SDKKFJEIWSDNV" Which roughly translated to "MINA, I WOKE UP LATE TOO AND DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO TRUST ME WITH WAKING YOU UP?"

The two blondes ran around the house trying to dress themselves and pack their bags while the rest of the girls were in the kitchen finishing off their breakfast.

"I've got their breakfast ready in a small bento box." Makoto put the two packed breakfasts on the counter for easy access while Ami came over with two travel mugs.

"I put their coffee in a travel mug" and placed them close to the bento boxes.

"Those two are always late!" Rei huffed as she shovelled more muesli into her pout.

"They're getting better though." The voice of optimism, Ami, mused as she sat back into her seat.

"How are they ever going to learn how to live in the real world when they can't even follow a simple schedule?" Rei chided as she checked her reflection in her pocket mirror. Makoto smirked at her best friend.

"What? Mina lends you a Donna Karan dress and you just snap back into being the old Rei?" The raven-haired girl snapped her compact mirror shut and stuck her tongue out at her best friend.

"I'm not _snapping _back into the _Old Rei_. I am merely making an observation and stating my opinion."

"Mhm." The tall senshi grinned.

"Come on girls, no more squabbling. We need to get the girls out of the apartment or else they will be late!" As soon as the words were out of the smart girl's mouth two blondes came thundering into the kitchen, scrambling around on the counter trying to pack their bags.

"Don't forget girl's night tonight!" Mako brandished her spatula at the two girls who nodded furiously. Usagi looked up and spied Rei's plate,

"Food." Usagi looked morosely at Rei's muesli; the raven haired beauty pulled her bowl toward her and pointed to the stack of bento boxes on the edge of the counter.

"This is mine. That's yours. Thank Mako for packing it for you." Usagi and Mina looked at their tall friend and grinned.

"Thank you Mako." They chimed in unison. Makoto chuckled.

"And now thank Ami for the coffee." The blondes turned to their smartest friend, smiling and bowing in gratitude. Mina checked the clock on the wall and squealed; she slapped Usagi on the arm and yelled,

"USA! WE'RE LATE!" Usagi turned to the clock and screamed again.

"AHHHH!" Mina grabbed Usagi's hand and ran to the door rushing out of it and, in their haste, failed to notice two shaggy haired boys exiting the opposite apartment. The two boys looked in shock as the girls ran past them towards the stairs – Mina yelling to Usagi that it was worth meeting the awkward boy on the first floor if they made it to university on time.

"Brother, we live opposite weirdoes." Nephrite clapped a hand over his brother's shoulder, who sagged a bit under the weight, and tusked. Zoicite laughed his melodious laugh,

"Just be glad they aren't the girls we're after." Nephrite bellowed in laughter as they walked toward the elevator.

* * *

><p>Before the boys left their apartment the two boys were calmly eating their breakfast in the kitchen when their friend walked in dragging his feet as he did so.<p>

"Morning guys." Nephrite chewed thoughtfully as he stared at his friend who was currently pushing the buttons on the coffee machine without noticing that there was no water and no coffee grounds in it.

"Dude, there's no water or beans in it." His youngest brother pointed out. Their friend turned, his eyes still red from lack of sleep.

"Oh." He shuffled to the cupboard and took what he needed for his morning cup of coffee. As he pushed the buttons he let out a big yawn.

"Ok, what's wrong with you? Who died?" Zoicite let his spoon fall into his bowl with a clatter and faced his friend. Nephrite shovelled more cereal into his mouth and also turned to his friend to hear his response. Mamoru just turned, his eyes half closed, and looked at his friends with a blank look.

"No one died." Nephrite narrowed his eyes and turned to his younger brother expecting him to confront their friend for the both of them since his mouth was currently full of food.

"Cut the crap Dymi. Why the hell do you look like… well hell?" Kunzite walked into the kitchen and walked over to the cupboard to get a bowl.

"Dude, you look like shit." He said as he took a quick glance over his shoulder toward his friend.

"He's been like that for two weeks." The last brother came into the room and pulled Nephrite's plate toward him, took Zoicite's spoon from his empty plate and shoved the breakfast in his mouth.

"Hey!" His twin protested. Jadeite grimaced as he bit into the meal.

"This is disgusting, what the hell is it?" Nephrite grinned.

"Choke on it you bastard, you stole my breakfast!" Jadeite shrugged his shoulders and shoved more food into his mouth ignoring his brother's sputtered protests.

"Hello, back to Dymi and why he's been like a zombie for the past two weeks." Zoicite pointed to their friend who was currently taking large gulps of his coffee.

"I've just been studying a lot. PhDs are hard!"

"Don't lie." Jadeite pointed the stolen spoon to his friend. Mamoru sighed. There was no escaping his friends. Before he could say anything Nephrite tutted.

"Zoi, we gotta go brother, we have class in like twenty minutes!" Zoicite glanced at his watch and sighed.

"Don't think you get out of this. We're going to hear about it tonight at dinner."

"8:30, Manolio's?" Their friend asked. His friends nodded as they slung their backpacks over their shoulder and walked out of the kitchen.

"Seriously what is this crap?" Jadeite protested in his brothers' wake.

"Muesli with dried prunes." His friend offered.

"Great, not only does this taste like shit, but I'm also going to be crapping all day." He shoved the plate away from him and slid off the chair. His friend and half-brother grinned with the former offering to give him anti-diarrhoea medication 'just in case'.

"See you guys tonight!" Jadeite didn't wait for a response before leaving the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Usagi sauntered up the stairs and saw the boy who had a crush on Mina sitting on the step reading a book.<p>

"Hey Masaaki, what's up?" Usagi stopped in front of him and flashed him a smile the boy couldn't help but return despite his somber mood.

"I'm reading." He held his book up but it didn't pass Usagi's notice that the book was upside down – she had heard him hastily open the book and ruffle the pages when she pushed the ground floor door open.

"Masaaki, Mina is already home, you should go home too." Masaaki got up, his movements reflecting his current mood, and turned towards the door. He stopped for a second and turned to look at Usagi who was on the first step of the second flight of stairs.

"She… she's trying to avoid me isn't she?" Usagi thought carefully about her next words – how could she tell Masaaki that Mina took the elevator from the second floor, which made her late sometimes just waiting for it, just to avoid him since he really wasn't her type? It wasn't that Masaaki was ugly, in fact he was quite the opposite; he had shaggy brown hair, a warm smile that seemed to match his eyes on occasions when he didn't feel Mina's rejection and was genuinely interested in her. However, Mina wasn't interested in dating guys their age; she preferred them older, with prospects and who were experienced. She liked being treated as a mature woman, rather than what she really was - which was a first year university student. Years of being a sailor senshi had made the girls mature beyond their years and Mina, who was the leader of the senshi, had to make decisions beyond her 16 years of age.

"Masaaki, Mina would be interested in you, but she doesn't want to date anyone in the building. If things do go south, which is likely in Mina's case, think about how awkward this would be." Masaaki nodded, having heard this speech many times from Mina before but not really believing it. Usagi noticed his misery and walked toward him, "Masaaki, you are a really good guy. You're handsome, nice and you would make any girl happy. Mina isn't in a position to be in a relationship right now and it would be a shame to see you waste more time on her. Go out, have fun, and maybe, some day, Mina will notice what an amazing guy you are." She flashed him her biggest grin which prompted a weak smile in return.

"Thanks Usagi, you're a really good person." Usagi laughed embarrassed by his sentiments and ran up the stairs leaving Masaaki to mull over what she said. She made sure her keys were in her hand so that she could be efficient in opening the door to her apartment lest she run into any unwanted neighbours- it had been two weeks since her talk with Mamoru and she didn't know how to face him. She shoved the key into the lock and ran into the apartment closing the door hastily in her wake.

"USAGI!" Three voices sounded as one and Usagi saw three of her best friends holding up a shot and downing it, laughing with hilarity at something Usagi hadn't quite yet caught on. She turned to her other best friend, who seemed to be sober, leafing through a hardback book on the couch.

"You will have to drink 4 shots in order to keep up with them." Usagi grinned and shed her coat letting it fall to the floor.

"Hey! Your coat!" Rei scolded as she topped up her friends' shot glasses and added an extra glass for their newly arrived friend.

"Even when you're drunk you still can't see mess!" Usagi picked up her coat and threw it on the coat hanger not caring that it was all crumpled, and joined her friends who were sitting on the floor around the coffee table.

"Now we drink to Luna!" Mina raised her glass and downed the shot, the other girls following suit. Usagi heard their smart friend sigh as she took a small sip from her glass.

"AMES! YOU GOTTA DOWN IT GIRL!" Makoto filled up a shot glass and downed it as if to show Ami how a shot was really drunk.

"I do not want to get drunk like you." Ami sounded so responsible that Mina giggled.

"We're not drunk Ami, we can all hold our alcohol. We're just trying to get into the mood." Rei grinned as she downed the glass Makoto had just filled.

"Usagi! Make us cocktails!" Mina whined and Usagi happily complied. She got up and walked towards the built in bar that had come with the apartment; she remembered her parents' expression when they saw the gaudy corner that had the capacity to hold a well stocked liquor cabinet. Their horror lasted only as long as it took them to go to the local liquor store and buy them a couple of drinks – her father had even purchased a mini wine cooler and stocked it with a few good wines "in case anyone of age comes over and you want to offer them some wine" he winked at her knowingly. Usagi laughed as she made the drinks at her parents' antics; ever since they had found out her secret identity, they had treated her like an adult and, in return, she acted like one. They had seen her transformation from crybaby Usagi Tsukino, to beautiful, regal future moon princess. Her relationship with Shingo had even matured – no more did they bicker about things (well, sometimes they did but that's neither here nor there) and he even started going to her for advice. He had become captain of the football team at school and girls fawned over him but he chose the girl he had chosen years ago – the quiet doll maker Mika – and he relied constantly on his sister for help on how to get the girl of his dreams to come out of her shell.

She brought an assortment of professionally looking drinks over to the table on a tin tray that depicted her favourite movie (Beauty and the Beast) and placed it in the centre of the table. Mina took a fruity daiquiri served in a highball glass garnished with a lemon peel; Rei took her classic martini, stirred not shaken (unlike James Bond's drink) garnished with two olives; Makoto picked up a classic margarita served with lemon and salt around the rim; Ami chose her favourite red wine with an assortment of fresh fruit and cinnamon in an extra large classic wine glass; and Usagi picked a cosmopolitan served with a maraschino cherry and garnished with a lemon peel slice. Once the girls had their drinks Makoto asked them to wait as she brought out the finger food she had prepared in lieu of a feast since "finger food was much better suited to this type of a gathering rather than sit at a table eating proper food". Soon the coffee table was full of the wonderful food Makoto had prepared; red velvet/choco chip oreo/chocolate fudge/vanilla mini muffins, mini fruit tartlets, goat cheese poppers with honey, creamed spinach tartlets, mini leek and roquefort quiches, brie and salmon mini sandwiches, baked mozzarella sticks, falafel with tzatziki dip, mini kebab sticks with vegetables, mini pigs in blankets, mini cheese pies, mini olive pies, and the piece de la resistance her famous three tiered chocolate and cognac cake which she made on very special occasions adorned the table and the smell of the amazing cooked food even enticed Ami to leave her book discarded on the couch and join the girls on the floor sipping her drink every so often to clear the palette for the next 'amuse bouche' (as the French called it).

And thus the girl's night in began.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at Manolio's, Mamoru was the third out of the boys to appear and when he arrived he swore that he could cut the tension with a knife. Kunzite and Jadeite had arrived before him, and they were sitting at opposite sides of the table, not looking at each other and not speaking. Mamoru greeted them and took a seat near Kunzite. Relief washed over the two boys' face simultaneously as they greeted their friend with a bit more gusto than intended. Mamoru sighed; it was a shame to see two brothers, well half-brothers really, not get along. He could guess that the tension between the oldest brother and the illegitimate brother was justified, to a certain extent, but it didn't warrant their current behaviour. Kunzite never really accepted Jadeite as his brother, unlike Zoicite and Nephrite who got along with their half-French brother like a house on fire – and Jadeite never really took to his older brother's apathy toward him.<p>

When they were five years old, Jadeite had flown to Japan for the first time ever to visit his father and the rest of his family. Kunzite, who was already at an age where he understood that this boy was the reason his parents fought all the time, took a complete disliking to him the minute they met. The younger brother had tried to get along with his older brother, whom he seemed to revere at that time, but his attempts were futile. His admiration for his brother grew as his two other brothers regaled him with tales of their older brother's bravery and his competence at extreme sports. When he was ten, his father came to Paris and brought over his brothers. This time, he was determined to make his older brother like him but again, to no avail. From that moment on he made a promise that he would love his two other brothers like he should and be completely indifferent to Kunzite – a stance which the latter didn't seem to mind.

"Hey Dymi, Zoi and Nephrite are coming from the library now. Apparently the library brought in a new shipment of books that got Zoi all excited and since he was meant to be coming with Nephrite, they're both late."

"Right… so should we order? By the time they come, their food should be here." The good thing about the five boys was that they were all predictable in their meals – as long as it had meat, it was good. Manolio's made the best butter and beer steaks, baby ribs with Jack Daniels sauce and a platter of cooked meat, kebab style. The boys usually ordered two of each and put them in the middle where they would each put what they wanted on their plate.

"Already done!" His friend winked at him. Mamoru laughed. He was in the process of taking off his coat telling the story of how his lecturer wanted him to teach the first years when the remaining two joined them at the table.

"Sorry we're late," Nephrite interrupted, apparently out of breath, "but Zoi here," he jerked his head to indicate his brother on his left, "just had to look through one hundred new books that the library recently bought."

"Hey!" His youngest brother protested, "I needed to get first dibs on the good books." He sat next to Jadeite, his eyes following his brother who sat in between his twin and their oldest brother.

"Yeah well apparently you weren't the only one. Some weird chica got there before you." Zoicite grinned.

"Ah brother, not any weird chica, our beautiful neighbor weird chica." Nephrite leaned closer.

"Makoto reads medicine textbooks?" Zoicite furrowed his eyebrows before he realized that he and his brother were talking about two very different women.

"Dude, I'm talking about Ami." Nephrite narrowed his eyes.

"Who's Ami? The blonde one?" Kunzite and Mamoru both jerked their heads simultaneously to look at Nephrite. Before either of them could say anything, Zoicite replied,

"Before these two have a coronary, no. Ami is the blue haired one." Nephrite shaped his mouth into a silent O, realizing who his brother was talking about. Zoicite turned to see his friend and older brother looking at him with a strange expression on their faces.

"Before we go into how I know, what I know, have we ordered? I'm starving!" The boys nodded. "Good!" He poured himself a generous amount of red wine and turned to his other two brothers. "Now let me tell you about the two blondes living in the apartment opposite us – one broke Mamoru's heart a year ago and the other spent a passionate night with Kunzite who, as per his usual standard, did not ring or text her back the morning after and now he realises how much he regrets his decision." Jadeite and Nephrite turned from their youngest brother to stare at the brother and friend, open mouthed.

"What?" Mamoru and Kunzite drank deeply from the wine glasses hoping to hide their stunned looks.

"Oh brothers, and friend, you think I know nothing, but I know, and see all. Now, what you two don't know is that Usagi, Mamoru's beloved, is actually kind of already over him and has been dating since the breakup, unlike her counterpart, and Mina is exactly like our older brother who doesn't regret one night stands. And the jumper she is seen wearing, which is actually Kunzite's favourite jumper, is just a memento of some night as she does this quite often."

"Spill it Zoicite, how the fuck do you know all this?" Kunzite spat his youngest brother who just gave him a smile in return.

"Brother, I know all."

And the boys leaned in closer to hear how Zoicite was so informed of their personal lives marking the beginning of their boy's night out.

* * *

><p>"So what did you say after all that?" Rei picked up a salmon and brie sandwich daintily with her fingers and popped it on her mouth.<p>

"Nothing. I just…I left…" Usagi sounded so forlorn Makoto put an arm around her pulled her close. Usagi unwrapped two muffins and stuffed them in her mouth before taking a sip of her drink. Rei tried not to look too disgusted as she reached for a mini quiche.

"He still doesn't get the reason you broke up?" Usagi shook her head at her blonde best friend.

"But… I… how much more concise could you have gotten?" Usagi had never seen her smart friend flustered before.

"I really don't know. I don't know what he wants from me." Rei turned to her best friend, her face serious, as always.

"Usa, in the one year that you were apart you have grown and matured so much. I'm not saying that Mamoru held you back, no way, but you clung onto your relationship like a girl who was in love. You let jealousy lead you at times and because Mamoru was so in love with who you were, you didn't allow yourself any space to change. Under any other circumstance, that would have been a good thing – who doesn't want a boyfriend who is in love with our flaws? But you're the future Queen of the Moon and you had to change, not for Mamoru, but for your people." Mina looked from Rei to Usagi and continued since Rei had stopped talking hoping that Usagi wasn't taking what she was saying the wrong way.

"I agree with Rei. I think you have come a long way and you needed some distance from Mamoru. We discussed this a year ago and I stand by our conclusion; you love Mamoru and we want to see you two together, but you had to spend some time apart just so you can truly grow into the true you." Mina stopped to let Ami continue, the next part only Ami could say since she was the least judgmental of the four.

"Usagi, we were all there for you. We saw you cry and weigh the decision of going back to Mamoru but you stuck by what you said. And, to be brutally honest, we love the change in you. You were always a strong leader, despite your laziness and your crying bouts; we don't love you more now than what we did then. But this change is for the better, for your people. We would have accepted your decision to go back to Mamoru… but I think spending a year apart did you so much good." Makoto grinned and continued where Ami left off.

"I remember the first guy Mina introduced you to three months after your breakup. You kept telling us it was too soon but the minute you saw him you were stunned by his good looks, it was just too bad he didn't have the brains to match. What I'm trying to say is that you moved on but you never forgot. We're all just wondering if that's what you REALLY want, or if you just want to go back to how it was." Usagi sighed and the five were silent for a while as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"I don't know what I want just yet." Usagi finally spoke. "I do know that my decision to break up with Mamoru did me good. I learned to grow as a person and I learned what I really wanted without being dependant on anyone. I just… I remember our past together and our future and then our present-life past and I think that we're clearly meant to be so why am I having doubts?" Mina laughed.

"I wish we had someone in our past like you had Endymion." Usagi masked her concerned look – her friends didn't know about their past relationship with the shitennou since neither of them had felt that bond yet; just like she didn't remember her past with Mamoru until their feelings had reached a point where it opened their memories of their past together. This was something she couldn't fix for her friends, and only it was really meant to be would their memories come back. "But whatever you choose to do, remember, we're here for you." Her friends smiled at her and Usagi just had to smile back.

"I think you're having doubts cause you realise how much you've changed and you like your change. But there's no denying that knowing about your past-past, present-past and future, my God are our lives confusing, is swaying your decision." Makoto reached over for a mini quiche.

"I know. I want to stay single for a bit – well, the kind of single I've been for a while – and just get to know Mamoru again and see whether we're still compatible."

"Atta girl." The tall girl nudged her shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Hey, if that doesn't work out, there's a guy in my psych class who would be perfect for you!" Mina chimed in which made the girls laugh – all four girls were glad to note Usagi's laughter was genuine.

"Enough about me! I want to know why Mina's been avoiding the guys next door!" Four pairs of eyes turned to the blonde girl who bent over suddenly very interested in the mini quiche she was about to eat.

"Spill girl." Makoto took a sip of her second drink and waited impatiently, with the rest of the girls, to hear Mina's story.

* * *

><p>"FOOD!" Zoicite exclaimed at the sight of the waiter bringing over six heavily laden plates. The waiter, who knew the boys, placed the dished in the middle and came back to set out individual dinner plates.<p>

"Are you SURE you don't want salad?" He asked. The boys laughed – the waiter had become a friend over the past two months of them coming here so often and he had apparently made it his mission to get them to eat more salad since their unhealthy appetite would lead them to an early grave.

"Noooooooooo" Zoicite turned to look at the waiter, two bright red spots on his cheeks. The waiter laughed – the boy could not hold his liquor.

"He'll be fine once we put some food in him." Nephrite noticed their friend's concerned, but amused, look. Zoicite, oblivious to the conversation, turned to the food and started serving himself. The boys followed suit.

"Zoi, you're not allowed to spy on us anymore." The blonde man turned to his oldest brother.

"Kunzite, I wasn't spying. It's not my fault I saw our neighbour leave the house with your precious sweater, nor is it my fault that I guessed what had our friend deep in the slumps lately." His comment earned a protested 'hey!' from his friend but he ignored it. Apparently a bit of the steak had sobered him up. "I'm not going to explain it again to you." Kunzite shook his head in disbelief and turned to his best friend.

"So what are you going to do with Usagi?" Mamoru chewed carefully thinking about how to respond when he had so many conflicted feelings about the girl.

"Well obviously you're going to move on right?" Nephrite interrupted his flow of thinking.

"You can't still be in love with her." Jadeite looked shock at the prospect of his best friend still being in love with his old girlfriend after all she had done to him.

"It's different. Usagi and I share two pasts together…we're…I think the word is soulmates." Jadeite scoffed.

"I see your point but she treated you terribly and you haven't been in a relationship since breaking up with her."

"Nephrite's right." Everyone turned to the youngest of the group. "You don't know what it's like to be with someone else. You're clinging to an Usagi you knew, not the one that exists now. You told us yourself that she's changed quite a bit since you last saw her. You two might not even be compatible."

"He's right." Jadeite mused. "While I think it's ridiculous to believe in soulmates, you and Usagi do share a special bond, something which the rest of us will never feel with a girl because we weren't ever in your position to love someone in our past lives." Mamoru shifted uncomfortably in his seat as if he knew something but it went unnoticed by all except Zoicite who looked at him with a curious expression on his face. "I think you and Usagi have to become friends first before you can decide whether she's the one you want to spend eternity with." The boys knew that Mamoru had travelled to the future and they understood his obvious attachment to the blond girl.

"He's right." Nephrite spoke up. "But I think you should try dating someone new. What about Noa's friend, the friend you have in common? Sako? Seiko?" Mamoru sighed.

"I have a history with her too." Nephrite grinned.

"From what I saw that night she still likes you."

"You think?" His friend nodded.

"That's settled, you should call her." Zoicite grinned. "I shall have her number by tomorrow." Everyone turned to look at him horrified by how he was able to come by information so fast but he just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"One day brother, you're going to have to teach me your way." Zoicite just grinned and bit into his juicy steak. "I wanna hear more about Kunzite and his girl." His older brother shot him a death glare.

"There's nothing to tell!"

* * *

><p>"You slept with someone you met that night?" Usagi turned to her smart friend and sighed.<p>

"Really Ames? Out of the story she just told us, you chose to comment on that?"

"Yeah…you obviously don't know Mina." Mina pretended to be offended by Rei's words but both girls just laughed instead.

"Mina, that was really dangerous."

"Come on Mako, like you've never done that!"

"No! I knew them all beforehand. And none of them were that much older than me."

"Seven years isn't much Mako."

"True." Usagi chimed in slurping a new drink from a straw. Mako just stared at her friend before adding more advice.

"Usa, you knew Mamoru. Mina didn't know this dude."

"Well, now's her chance. He lives, literally, right across the hall." Mina scoffed.

"What's done is done. I don't go back to one night stands."

"No even if they were THAT good?" Rei winked. Mina, Usagi and Makoto burst out laughing while Ami just looked like she didn't know whether to be horrified or laugh along with them.

"Anyway, there's someone new."

"SPILL!"

"He's this guy in my psych class and he is SO good looking." Rei looked shocked.

"Wait… you mean…he's our age?" Mina's cheeks flushed.

"Oh no Mina!" Usagi realised. Ami caught on and gasped.

"YOUR TEACHER?!" Makoto and Rei whipped their heads so fast it was a wonder that they didn't get whiplash to look at their friend.

"You're sleeping with your teacher?" Makoto asked.

"Well, she got a really good jumper from her previous…fling. Why shouldn't she get a really good grade this time?" Rei chimed in all seriousness but her friends could see the humour and sarcasm behind her words.

"Mina, you could get expelled for that. Can't you?" Mina turned to her blue-haired friend.

"Relax Ames, you can't get expelled – and he can't get fired since he's tenured."

"Well then by all means, go ahead with the sex… it's not like it's immoral or anything."

"Mako… we're both adults…" Rei interrupted,

"Just how much of an adult is he, just out of curiosity."

"He's 35." Usagi choked on her drink and only stopped sputtering after Makoto hit the right spots quite hard on her back.

"Thanks." Her voice was weak.

"No problem." She turned to her other blonde friend. "35? Wow…" Mina grinned.

"Hey… he's VERY experienced!"

"Ew!" Rei was grossed out but the other girls, even Ami, laughed.

"Well that's me! I can show him to you tomorrow Usagi if you pick me up from class."

"I want to see him too!" Rei demanded.

"Me too!" Makoto whined.

"I would like to see what the fuss is all about." Mina looked at her friend aghast.

"Ami… you want to see my fling! That's a first." Ami blushed.

"Well… if he's as experienced as you say he is, shouldn't we see what experienced looks like?" The girls all burst out laughing.

"AMI!" Usagi was laughing really hard. "You have Zoicite! He's experienced enough!" Ami's blush deepened.

"I don't have anyone!" The girls all started protesting while their friend tried futile attempts to calm them down.

* * *

><p>At Manolio's the men were trying to drag the story out of their taciturn friendbrother. It took a lot of guessing on everyone's part to get the whole story out of him.

"Ok so, you met her at a club and slept with her and never called her back." Kunzite exhaled exasperatedly.

"For the millionth time Zoi, I told you that sentence like a million times."

"You only told me twice; the third time you just said 'didn't call her the night after'. What do you want me to make of that?" Nephrite could see his older brother getting red in the face which meant that he was about to blow up at any moment.

"I think Zoi just wants more information like… why was she wearing your jumper." Kunzite shot his youngest brother a death glare before turning to answer his other brother's question.

"Dunno."

"Helpful!" Zoicite did little to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"Did you give it to her to wear because it was cold?" Mamoru tried. His friend nodded.

"Ah… so she was dressed in slutty clothing." Zoicite's eyes widened. He could see his brother clutching the steak knife rather possessively, his hand twitching almost as if he wanted to throw it at the youngest man.

"That's murder." The brunette brother said noting the twitch.

"She wasn't dressed in slutty clothing. The dress was just a little on the short side." Kunzite breathed heavily trying to control his anger toward his youngest brother. He knew Zoicite was goading him into giving more information but he wasn't generally a very talkative person.

"But it must mean something if she kept the jumper and continues to wear it."

"It's a very good jumper." His brothers and Mamoru laughed at his feeble attempt at a joke.

"Your favourite. You never lend that jumper to anyone. Even if someone was dying, you would never lend that jumper. Why did you give it to her?" Jadeite turned to Nephrite,

"I'm confused about this jumper? What's so special about it? Is it made out of pure gold?"

"My grandmother gave it to me." The oldest replied curtly. Jadeite looked a bit shocked at receiving an answer from his oldest brother but didn't say anything despite not having his question completely answered.

"Kunzite was really close to grandma Ryuu. She was our dad's grandma and apparently in her time she was a sort of ninja. She worked as a spy in First World War and taught Kunzite all he knows about martial arts and sword fighting. They spent loads of time together when he was young. She lived in a remote cabin up in the mountains. That jumper was her present to him when he got his first dao on his black belt – she passed away shortly after." Jadeite nodded as he took in information from his brother's past – this was news to him and when he turned to see his brother, he looked at him with new found respect.

"Anyway, the point is that Mina has that jumper and you don't seem to want it back." Kunzite shot brother a death glare which silenced him….for the time being. "Anyway…now Nephrite can tell us about the chocolate he's been receiving but doesn't want to share with us!" Nephrite grinned at his brother.

"Nu-uh! I want to know about you and Ami. Is she really smarter than you?" Zoicite laughed.

"Well…"

* * *

><p>"Girls, there is nothing to tell. Please don't pressure me!" Usagi was so close to her friend that she was practically sitting in her lap.<p>

"Come one Ames! Have you kissed?" Ami turned to her brunette friend aghast.

"Makoto!"

"Hey, it was an innocent question!"

"Question is…have you and Zoicite been playing innocent?" Rei mused, eyes half shut as if judging her best friend. The girls laughed and turned to Ami to hear her response.

"Nothing has happened and nothing will happen!" Ami assured them.

"But…but we like him for you!" Mina chimed, eyes wide.

"He's smart and funny and seems to get you to open up. Something which, until he came along, only we could do." Usagi stopped to think about what she said. "Hold on… I don't know whether to feel threatened by him or embrace the fact that he makes you feel so comfortable." This earned her a light slap from Rei.

"You baka! We're trying to convince her to date this guy, not dump him and run for the hills."

"Really Usa, I don't think you get what matchmaking means." Ami stared at her friends.

"Matchmaking? You guys have talked about this?" The girls looked at her guiltily.

"Ames, we just want you to be happy. I mean we feel really bad. First, Greg turns out to be a bit of a douche and we… well we haven't exactly been helping you."

"What do you mean?" Usagi looked at her friend; her humour was replaced by solemnity.

"Ami, as Sailor Moon I asked you four to give up so much! You were the one who suffered the most! You had the chance to go to Germany and study but I took that away from you. We've all had to give up a small part of our lives, but you… you made the most sacrifices. As future Queen Neo-Serenity I am asking you to give up your future too and that's a lot for someone like you. I just think that Zoicite can make you happy and he can brighten up your future." Ami smiled at her friend.

"Thank you Usagi, I know you are just looking out for me. Thank you all." She looked at each of her friends before continuing. "I could have gotten on that plane and gone to Germany – I knew exactly what was waiting for me there but I also knew what I was leaving behind. You four are the most precious things I have in my life. You taught what it means to have friends, to live a life beyond academics. You were my life and I could not get on that plane and go to Germany knowing that I would be leaving a big part of my life in Japan. Usagi, Queen Serenity, I know what I am doing, I know the consequences of my future actions and I am fully prepared to take on the duty of being on your personal guard. Being here, with you four, is enough fulfilment. And…" She shot her friends a sly grin, "who knows, perhaps I can make room for a certain shaggy blonde boy in my life." The girls squealed with laughter at her statement and proceeded onto asking her more inappropriate questions – not that they were looking for answers, but they wanted to see their friend blush.

* * *

><p>"So she is smarter than you." Zoicite turned to his blonde brother and stuck his tongue out at him.<p>

"Shut up Jadeite, that's not what I said." Kunzite laughed.

"And what did you mean brother?" Nephrite grinned.

"I said she's as equally smart as I am."

"If not more." Mamoru added.

"I didn't say that!" Zoicite's voice was getting higher from exasperation. "She's really smart, yes, but we are on equal footing!"

"And…" Jadeite prompted.

"And…what?"

"Have you guys… kissed?" Nephrite asked.

"No. I have a problem." Four pairs of eyes turned to him as his expression turned serious. "Ami is seriously shy like… to the point where I don't know how to make my moves more prominent."

"Wait… she doesn't get that you're coming onto her?"

"No. It's not like you and Makoto who seem to know that you're both interested in each other. Ami seriously thinks that we're just friends having a good time." Mamoru thought carefully as he chewed his steak. He swished some wine in his mouth after swallowing and proceeded to adding his two cents.

"I know Ami, she's Usako's friend." Zoicite turned with hope in his eyes. "She wouldn't be talking to you this much if she didn't feel something for you."

"So she's interested?" Mamoru didn't want to extinguish the flame of hope in his friend's eyes, but he had to be honest.

"I don't know Zoi. She's always friendly with everyone she meets. But it is curious that she would choose to spend time with you in the library considering how much she values her study time. I doubt she gets much of that at home."

"So I should go for it?"

"I would ask her first if she has a boyfriend. Last I knew she was dating someone named Greg." Zoicite's crestfallen expression made Mamoru feel guilty for sharing this information. "They might have broken up. He was really interested in going to the States and even asked me to help him look at some universities."

"Oh."

"Zoi, Ami is a really special girl. She's always been a bit different from the girls, she has a really low self-esteem and hides behind her books because she thinks that's all she's good at."

"You think I don't know that?"

"I think what our friend is trying to say is that he doesn't want you to hurt her." Nephrite spoke softly, treading carefully on the newly created tension.

"Zoi… Ami's my friend. She's a really good girl and…well she deserves the best."

"You don't think I'm the best."

"That's not what Dymi means, and you know it." Kunzite said.

"What everyone's trying to say is that in the past you haven't been exactly courteous toward women, none of us with the exception of Dymi have been. We have a reputation and Dymi is saying that you have to let go of your old tactics of getting women to sleep with you, go out with them for a bit and then get bored."

"How's that any worse to what you and Kunzite do? Nephrite is the only one who seems to stay in stable relationships; you and Kunzite go from girl to girl without a care in the world."

"The way we treat women isn't the topic at hand." Kunzite interjected. "What we're trying to say is that if you start a relationship with this Ami girl, you have to see it through."

"Marriage?" Zoice exclaimed.

"Not marriage brother." Nephrite sighed.

"Zoi, what I'm trying to say is that you can't get bored with Ami that early on in the relationship. You'll crush her."

"First of all, what makes you think I'm going to get bored of her? And second, why do you speak on Ami's behalf? She's a lot stronger than you think."

"Zoicite, your track record with women doesn't exactly show promise with any of your future relationships. And I've known Ami longer."

"This is bullshit!" His temper was infamous within the group and no one wanted to have it flare up in the restaurant. "Dymi, I might actually really care for this girl and you're just telling me not to go for it."

"That's not what I said! I said, just be careful!"

"Of what?"

"Of not treating her like the other girls you've been with. Yes Kunzite and Jadeite do seem to get around but they never promise the girls they're with a relationship like you do. You conflate sleeping around with relationships."

"I'm not going to do that to Ami." Dymi sighed.

"Good, that's all I wanted to hear."

"Well I have news to report. I don't know whether Makoto likes me for me, or whether she just likes me charm and sex appeal." Nephrite tried to alleviate the tension with humour and it worked; four pairs of eyes turned to him.

"Why do you think that?" Jadeite pressed hoping that Zoicite and Mamoru would focus on something other than their argument.

"You see…"

* * *

><p>"So you leave chocolates for him in the mail box and he leaves…"<p>

"He leaves poetry."

"Pretty boy writes?"

"Rei!" The brunette scolded.

"What? It was an honest question!"

"Well, no need to sound so condescending. He's not stupid."

"How would you know? Have you ever had a normal conversation with him?" Makoto stopped to think about Rei's words.

"I'm sure there's more to this relationship-type-thing than pure physical attraction." Mina pointed out. Makoto stopped drinking and turned to her friend.

"No… come to think about it, his poetry is always about my beauty. I know nothing about him."

"Those are the best kind of relationships." Mina grinned.

"Mina!" Ami admonished. "Makoto, surely there is more to this relationship. Have you guys had a conversation?"

"No…" Makoto started to worry. She was really into Nephrite, but why? "I've never had a real conversation with him so how do I know he likes me for me?" Usagi could see the worry break out on her friend's face. "I mean… I have a lot of flaws! When I get angry I can beat my opponent up so bad they end up in hospital, or how about my height? I'm too tall for most guys! Also I love food! I love cooking it, eating it, talking about it – what if he doesn't like that about me? And…" Rei put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

"First of all, we all get angry and, while yes we can't beat up out opponents to a pulp, we can do other things. Remember when I found out Greg was being a douche to Ami? I nearly burned down his house. Secondly, your height is not an issue here, believe me. He's tall enough to make you look like a midget. Thirdly look at Usagi – she loves food too, and only the bad aspects of it – eating it – and she still finds loads of guys. Mako, believe me, if someone takes one look at you they won't even think that you love eating food – you've got too much of a good body for that."

"But…" While some of her worry had faded away, there was still some doubt clouding her beautiful features.

"But what? You think he likes you just because you're beautiful? Guys think that women like being complimented on their beauty – it's an insult to them if they don't. Mako, when someone gets to know you, they won't be looking just at your beauty, believe me. You have so many positive attributes, being beautiful is only one of them."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or a diss." Usagi laughed.

"I think what Rei is trying to say is that you're beautiful but have many other attributes that make you beautiful on the inside as well."

"So…"

"So I think you should slip in a piece of paper in your next batch of chocolates specifying a day and time for a date."

"Oh thank you Venus, what would I do without your guidance?" Makoto wiped a fake tear away from her eye.

"You mock, but it's worked before!" Makoto stared at her.

"Wait…you've asked guys out before?" Mina shrugged her shoulders.

"But…but…the guy has to make the first move." Rei and Mina turned to Usagi.

"What do you mean it's the guy's move? Hello Princess, stop being so naïve! We live in the 21st century where women have almost as many rights as men."

"Sure we can't pee standing up but we are equal to them in almost every other way."

"Well…that's people say anyway." Ami chimed in. Rei turned to stare at her friend before turning back to Usagi.

"Usa…you've never asked a guy out?" Usagi shook her head.

"Well, aside from chasing after Mamoru during that period where we were broken up…I never actually asked him out. I just wanted him to take me back."

"Jeesh woman, you have it so easy!" Rei huffed and blew a strand of hair out of her face not bothering to tuck it behind her ear.

"Ok…back to me now! We've established that Usa hasn't asked anyone out ever. Mina, Rei, you guys have. Ami… well you barely ask us for anything so I doubt you've asked someone on a date – no offense." Her friend smiled her.

"You're right. And none taken." Makoto continued,

"And I've never asked someone out before either so… how does it work?" Mina and Rei stared at each and seemed to be locked into an unspoken conversation. A few seconds later they turned to Makoto.

"We have accepted to train you into how to ask someone out." Usage laugh died down after Rei gave her an icy glare.

"First of all, you have to make sure that he's really into you." The raven-haired beauty nodded.

"Which, we've established, he is since someone who is not interested in you would not take their time to write poetry." Rei followed.

"Secondly, you have to think of a crafty way to do so in order to come off as…"

"Not a whiny stalker?" Usagi offered. The two relationship advisors nodded in agreement.

"Whiny stalker." Mina repeated. "You have to come off as cool, suave and sophisticated. Like asking him out on a date is something you both really want (which I'm sure you both do) but you have to make it seem like it was his idea." Makoto started to worry again.

"Can't I just tell him 'you me Friday dinner' and be done with?" Rei and Mina looked horrified at the prospect of Makoto being so forward and blunt.

"NO!" Ami giggled at her two friends outburst.

"Makoto, our two friends are trying to teach you an art!" The tall senshi grinned.

"But it's too much work!" She took out her phone and punched in something before the girls heard the beep that signalled a message was sent.

"Please…" Rei started but couldn't finish.

"Don't…" Mina tried to continue but her voice also faltered.

"I think what our love experts are trying to say is… 'please don't tell us you sent him a message'". The two girls just nodded and Makoto laughed.

"Of course! I asked him whether he would want to come with me on Friday to this new restaurant I found and have been meaning to try out." Usagi turned to her friend aghast.

"What? What about us? We're your best friends…we saved the world together and you didn't think of us to go with you to a restaurant?"

"Relax Usa, I'll take you guys another time, I promise."

"But we were your guinea pigs in these situations."

"Now she's found another pig." Ami said with a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Shut it Ami. When did you become so lippy?" Ami just laughed and leaned back to pick up her book.

"Now that we have me sorted I want to know about Rei!" The girls all turned to their ebony-haired friend expecting juicy details.

"There's not much to say…" She started, but the girls protested.

* * *

><p>"So what do you guys think?"<p>

"You write poetry?" Jadeite asked suspiciously. "Who taught you? When did you start?"

"Really, out of the whole story that's what you get? I wanna know why he didn't share these amazing chocolates." Jadeite turned to his youngest brother.

"Zoi, you don't even like chocolate."

"I know…it makes me fat…but it would have still been kind of him to offer." Mamoru laughed.

"Nephrite do you like Makoto or not? I mean, from what I understand you just really like her looks."

"You're a right kill joy tonight aren't you?" Zoicite said in all humour burying the hatchet of their previous argument.

"Dymi, I think I actually like her for who she is. We've had a couple of conversations and spoke through texts on occasion and she seems really cool." Mamoru thought about telling him who Makoto really was but decided against it. She could act like a real lady but in truth she was a tomboy whose passionate temper could get the better of her. "She doesn't seem like other girls who don't know how to live. Sure…she talks a lot about food but who doesn't like food? And she can sometimes be very abrasive and I can kind of tell she has a temper cause when I was walking her to the bus stop one morning she saw a couple of kids taunting a homeless man and I could see her clenching her fists, almost as if she wanted to hit them, but she didn't. Instead she told them off calmly and gave the man some money and her bento lunch box." Mamoru inwardly smiled – if Nephrite hadn't been in there the boys would have surely ended up in the hospital.

"So ask her out on a date." Zoicite said as if it was the most obvious thing.

"But what if she rejects me?" Kunzite laughed but didn't say anything.

"What do you mean with that laugh brother?" Kunzite just smiled at his brother and continued eating.

"I think she likes you. Who would spend their precious time making chocolates for some guy she's not even into?" Zoicite pointed out. Before Nephrite could respond, his phone beeped.

"It's from her!" He looked so excited when he saw her name that the other boys had to smile at his giddiness. "Hey…she asked me out." Jadeite burst out laughing.

"I think she's into you bro!" Mamoru grinned.

"So what does the message say?" Nephrite put his phone back into his pocket.

"She says that there's new restaurant she wants to try out and if I could join her if I wanted."

"Duh! Say yes!"

"Brother, I already did!" He flashed his youngest brother a triumphant grin.

"So… that's me cleared. What about Jadeite? Who's this Kai person?" Jadeite grinned.

"She's this girl I met at university." Nephrite looked shocked.

"Wait what…? That girl goes to university?" Zoicite laughed.

"She's dumber than…Mamoru what's the idiom?"

"She's not dumb!" Jadeite protested before their friend could reply.

"As much as I want to agree with you, since she is VERY good looking, she is pretty stupid. I told her that you were half French, which explains your exotic look, and she asked where in Japan that was."

"Ok… so maybe geography isn't her strong point. I remember someone thinking that Edinburgh was in Australia!" Jadeite failed to mention that he had told Kai he was from Paris and when she didn't say anything he assumed she knew where that was.

"First of all, brother, I was ten and had never been to Europe until we came to see you. Secondly, geography may not be her strong suit but that still doesn't explain why she was trying to convince me that world war two was just a conspiracy for Americans to make the Japanese seem like 'the bad guys'."

"I'm surprised she even knew about world war two." Jadeite went to defend his sort of girlfriend when Nephrite laughed.

"Aha. She thinks world war two was a war between Japan and America in Pearl Harbour. See, ask her about Nazis and Hitler, she won't be able to tell you diddly-squat. She just saw some film and thinks she's an expert on it." Zoicite looked at his half-brother in disbelief.

"Seriously, what do you guys talk about?"

"They don't. You can hear them not talking through the walls." Jadeite gave his friend a sheepish grin.

"Kai can be kind of loud…"

"I know." Zoicite groaned.

"Come on Jed, why can't you pick someone normal. It's not like you to stick to one girl."

"But she's really pretty and good at the not-talking stuff. I've had a girlfriend with a meaningful relationship and turns out she was just after my money and status so…"

"So you decide to date a walking, talking doll?"

"We have a good time and it's easy being with her. I just sit there listening to her go on about what she did during the day then we watch a film and then we go to sleep."

"I hope that makes you happy." Mamoru said not believing for a minute that Jadeite was truly happy.

"What about the fifth neighbour? She's gorgeous and really smart!" Jadeite snapped to look at his twin.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… she seems to be a female version of you except she's not a man-whore…or any kind of whore." Jadeite grinned.

"What do you mean she's like me?" Nephrite thought for a few seconds before he replied.

"Well, when one looks at you they think class and elegance – sophistication if you will. Unfortunately, the rest of us don't exude that kind of sophistication – I think it's your French roots. When one looks at Rei, that's her name by the way, they also see class and elegance. She can make anything she wears look like it belongs in a fashion magazine. Sure she doesn't have Kai's voluptuous body type, but she has a good, if not better body than Kai. You're both really intelligent and hard working. A bit mysterious – I've met her in the hall a couple of times and there is always an air of mystery around her. She'd be perfect for you."

"Because we're similar?"

"No, because I think she would challenge you. Zoi has Ami to challenge him academically. Usagi and Mamoru have that whole history. Kunzite and Mina have to get past their night-time activities and take a real good look at what they want from each other. I have Makoto who makes it a challenge trying to figure out the real her. Rei…I think she'd be good for you." Jadeite scoffed.

"First of all, I can do better than her. Imagine, a politician with an art major – my degree is actually challenging, hers is just… a hobby. Secondly, I don't need you guys to play matchmaker." Mamoru gave him a knowing smile – Jadeite could sound like the most pompous ass ever without realising it.

"Rei isn't stupid. She works alongside her degree – while her degree isn't as challenging as any of our degrees, it doesn't mean that she's stupid. She's in the top of her class and she's as smart as any of us here she just chose to do what she loves. She does her job so well that people are trying to get her to go work for them and practically throw money at her. Don't be so arrogant as to think you're smarter than her – Rei has many hidden talents." One of them was being able to set their apartment on fire with a flick of her wrist if Jadeite got on her wrong side.

"Whatever. Point is, I'm happy with Kai and she's here to stay." The boys just shrugged and let Jadeite believe in his delusion that he was happy with a girl who posed no challenge and had no wit.

* * *

><p>"So no more professor huh?" Usagi sounded a bit sad but Rei narrowed her eyes cause she understood the reason behind her sadness.<p>

"Usagi, I'm not going to date a professor just so you can get good grades." Usagi sniffled as she picked another mini quiche.

"But I liked getting really good grades with practically no effort." Rei scoffed and drank some more of her drink. By now the girls were on their third drink and Usagi had ran out of ice so she was drinking a warm honey glazed cognac in a brandy snifter while the rest of the girls were drinking spiced mulled wine.

"What about Jadeite?" Mina quipped; the four girls had spoken about Jadeite and Rei behind their friend's back thinking that the match would be perfect.

"The French fruitcake?" Usagi giggled.

"Why do you call him that?" Rei grinned.

"He's dating that girl who's not exactly the brightest tool in the shed."

"She can't be that stupid." Mina stressed.

"Oh but she is. Aside from wanting to return borrowed milk, which if you are going to return borrowed milk at least tell me you'll buy me a new carton, not return the milk…" The girls looked confused at Rei's ramblings. "…I met her downstairs and I was holding the new leaflet from our art gallery and it had the Mona Lisa on the front…the MONA LISA which is a universally known painting by the famous artist Leonardo Da Vinci, even Usagi who hates art knows this! She takes one look at it and tells me how gorgeous Scarlet Johansen is. SCARLET JOHANSEN!"

"I am a little confused…" Ami eyes burrowed in confusion.

"You should be a LOT confused. It took me ages to understand two things: a) she confused the paintings; she thought I was holding Vermeer's 'The Girl With The Pearl Earring' which hello, I wasn't! and b) she couldn't even tell that this work of art – both works of art – apart from a crappy movie!"

"Hey, the movie was actually really good!" Mina pointed out.

"The painting, and the TRUE story behind it, is much better. You just like Colin Firth." Rei snapped.

"Ok Rei, so she's not an art aficionado… that doesn't mean she's stupid. If I wasn't friends with you, I wouldn't know half the paintings I know."

"Usa, it's a pretty big deal if you can't tell you Vermeer from your Da Vinci and it gets even worse when you can't tell what a fricking movie is based on!"

"Do you have anything else against the girl?" Ami asked quietly.

"Perhaps a little resentment for dating the boy next door?" Makoto winked. Rei's dry laugh surprised them.

"I'm not jealous of her. Hell, I know I'm prettier than she is and I can get any guy I want."

"Good to know you've retained your humility." Mina pointed out in a sarcastic tone.

"Mina, really? We're going to do this now? Yes, I know I've changed since we were at school but it's for the better."

"Yeah it is." Usagi pointed out. "You don't scream hurtful things at me anymore." Rei's eyes dropped in embarrassment.

"Usagi, I'm really sorry for how I treated you in school." Usagi brushed her off with a wave of her hand.

"Don't think about it. I was horribly irresponsible in school too! I deserved most of the flack you gave me."

"No you didn't. That's partly why I changed."

"Rei, you didn't just change the way you treated Usagi, you did a whole 180!" Rei's eyes dropped again. A moment of silence followed before she spoke again.

"I didn't tell you this but…my dad got married again right before we left." Mina leaned in closer to Rei and put a comforting arm around her; the girls knew about Rei's relationship with her dad and how much grief he had caused her over the years. "Obviously I wasn't invited…at first. Turns out his new wife didn't want me at the wedding in case I ruined it with me 'attitude' and she didn't want me to outshine her own daughter. Father had to invite me though because it was election year and he had to paint the picture of a perfect family."

"Rei, why didn't you tell us?"

"I debated telling you so that you could come to the wedding, but I knew my dad would never allow it. But after the wedding I realised that I was a spoilt girl who thought too much of herself and who treated you horribly."

"I was pretty horrible and weak myself. I couldn't defeat a youma on my own without crying." Rei's expression turned fierce.

"Don't ever say that again. Sailor Moon was a pacifist and preferred to deal with issues through healing the anger and hate…not fighting. You didn't do that because you were weak. In fact you were stronger than any of us. It takes so much more power and so much effort to heal than to fight and you did that every chance you got. You sacrificed yourself time and time again to make the world a better place and look at what you've accomplished! The world can literally go on turning because of you." Usagi smiled at her best friend.

"I think you give me too much praise… I wouldn't be able to do anything that I've done without you guys. It may not seem like it, but every time you yelled at me or called me a crybaby it gave me the perseverance to continue and to change. Without you I wouldn't be the me I am today. I've told you before Rei, my transformation wasn't just due to me…all of you helped."

"But you forgive me? I never asked for your forgiveness before but I think I need it."

"I think it's the alcohol talking – you don't have a need to ask me for forgiveness but since you have, I do forgive you. I love you guys and you've given up everything to be with me." Rei smiled and the other followed suit.

"If my legs weren't all tingly from sitting in this position for so long, I would have proposed a group hug." Usagi sounded so forlorn which made the rest of the girls bellow with laughter. She looked at them all laughing and couldn't help but smile – these were her friends, her family, and she would do anything to protect them. If any of the guys next door hurt her friends like they did in the past, she would kill them one by one in the most painful way possible.

"So, who's up for a little DDR?" Mina proposed after the laughter died down.

The rest of the evening was passed laughing and playing video games – well Mina and Usagi played video games, Rei and Makoto were painting each other's nails and Ami was reading her book. The girls were so different from one another but that's what made them work as a group. They drew strength from Jupiter, love from Venus, optimism from Mercury, fire from Mars and hope from the Princess – hope that their future was going to be everything they wanted and more.

Meanwhile the boys continued talking about the girls next door and various other things that came to them. Mamoru looked at his friends and smiled sadly – if they ever found out about their past-past and present-past lives, it could potentially shatter the dynamics of their friendship. He didn't know why the only memories that came back to them was the fact that they served in his army… he dreaded the day they would find out about their betrayal to him. He was also confused as to why they didn't get their memories from their past relationship back; little did he know that they knew all about their past relationships but they couldn't make the connection between the senshis and their present day reincarnations.

* * *

><p>AN:

I know it's a REALLY long chapter and it's mostly just chit chat but I want you to get the feel of the characters.

Did you guys like it?

About Rei – I LOVE her, she's my favourite senshi because in my mind I've made her atone for everything she did to Usagi. I HATE the way the anime portrayed her so in my mind I kept making excuses for her and blame her father (hello Freud!).

Here are my thanks!

**Tryntee13 : **Haha! Yes they do – but I really like the idea of Usagi wanting to be independent. I love her and Mamoru together (my God do I love the pair) but I need them to understand that their love is pure and they're both in the relationship because they want to be. I want it to be fun and understanding. Which is why they will have to go through one big trial. Coming up in the chapters ahead.

**A: **I still laugh at your penname. Haha! I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. I know it didn't have much juice in it but I wanted to show the dynamics of their friendship and show their character. Of course, I don't know how effectively I executed those plans.

**Isis Aurora Tomoe: **Mina/Kunzite coming up! Haha. I love the fact that they're both leaders of their group and I am trying to find a way to work it in there.

**Sage McGavin: **Glad to hear! What do you think of the story so far?

**Jo: **Haha! I am so glad you like it and I love your enthusiasm (and the fact that you reviewed all my chapters in one reading) ;)) I hope you like this chapter too. No much juice can be extrapolated from this chapter but I enjoyed writing it nonetheless.

**To everyone who favourited/followed/alerted THANK YOU! **

**Have a GREAT day/weekend/month/year ;))**

**AuroraFireMadness**


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